The Hidden Voice
by Colored-Sand
Summary: Melina never predicted how far her father would go for her, but she knew that something had to be done for both her and Luke's sake ... AU. Severe spoilers for "Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva".
1. Chapter 1

**This is fill for the Professor Layton Anonymous Fan Meme. For those of you that don't know, the meme is a place where people could post requests and 'fill' other's requests anonymously. The subjects, genres and ratings very greatly. The request was for an alternative theory concerning a mayor plot point in the movie "The Eternal Diva", which I had already thought about for a bit and decided to get on with it. The plot point in question? Whister doing the brain/memory/soul transfer on Luke. Yes, you just read that.**

**Um...I know that the meme says to remain anonymous, but I can no longer post anything there because the spam filter got activated and all posts there now get screened As such, I decided to just publish it under my name and finish this.**

**Also, I had no idea what genre this would fall into, so I went with that first came to mind, in any of you have a better idea of where it would belong, please say so on a review/DM/what have you.**

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><p><em>Melina turned on her side and looked at her friend in the eye. Gathering as much energy as she could, she made a motion for her to get closer. Once she was within arm's reach, the blonde lass cleared her throat. She wanted to say so many things, but she really didn't think that she would be able to hold a long conversation. How could she tell her friend and her father that she felt that she was about to…<em>

_She then had an idea. She unhooked her favorite pendant from around her neck and handed it to her friend. "Here, Janice."_

_The red-head stared at her in confusion, but took it nonetheless. "Why are you…?"_

_"You always liked it, didn't you? You can keep it."_

_Janice's eyes were glassy with tears. However, she still looked confused. "Melina?"_

_She smiled at her as best as she could. It was hard to keep her gaze steady. Maybe she could just close her eyes for a little while…_

_"Melina!" Janice cried as she blinked a bit too hard and made some tears fall down her cheeks._

_On the side of her eyesight, Melina saw her father turn his head away from her. His shoulders seemed to be shaking a bit before her vision faded to black._

Melina wasn't sure if she had ever wondered what would happen after she would die. As it was common with most young people, she never thought that she had reached the end of her life until the very end. Despite being ill for several years, she always thought about what she would do once she got better. It just didn't feel like she was done with her life just yet. It felt like she still had to do _something_.

Perhaps that was why she could feel herself slipping back into focus.

Her body was very numb, but she was certain that the bed she was in was not the same soft and comfortable one that she was in not long ago.

She could hear some muffled voices that gradually grew a bit clearer. One of the voices was female, and the other was male. It was hard to make out what they were saying at first, but then she managed to make out what the female voice said.

"…coming around soon"

By now, Melina had the enough strength back to unglue her eyes open.

She was lying in a clean bed, though it was a bit hard. There was a small window to her left, which showed the waking city of London. In front of her, a man with an odd hat and a nurse were talking.

"…The hospital?" Melina's voice sounded a bit odd to her. Must have been because she hadn't used her voice in a while. For all she knew, she might have been in the hospital for months. It was a bit hard to define when she was on her deathbed (according to her, anyway). It felt recent, and yet it felt like it happened a year ago at the same time.

The nurse immediately turned her attention to her and smiled warmly "Yes, sweetie." She helped Melina sit on the bed "I'll let you talk to your friend for a little while."

Melina grinned widely, she really wanted to see someone that she knew. "Yes, thank you."

The nurse left the room. However, the gentleman with the tall hat remained in the room. It was odd to be in such a vulnerable position with someone that she didn't know, and who was probably not a doctor. Melina decided to wait for a little while for the man to introduce himself, but he seemed to be waiting for her to react first.

Who _was_this man?

"Um…" she looked at him "did you take me here?"

"No," the man replied concisely "it was Emmy."

"Emmy?" she asked again, hoping to get a satisfying answer this time around.

"Yes, with her airplane."

It was like he was _trying_to make his awkward on purpose. "Where's my father?"

"I don't know, but I'll try to get in contact with him soon."

"And Janice?"

"I think she's on the waiting room."

"Could you please tell her to come in?"

The man with the top hat smiled slightly and then slowly turned for the door. Melina decided not to stare at him too much and just go to the bathroom. She wondered how she would look like now that she was healthy again. For a long time had she grown adjusted to see her pale reflection on the mirror and—why was everything so small? Had she shrunk during her time in bed? Melina could have sworn that spending time in bed made you grow!

She turned on the light of the bathroom and saw her reflection.

The only thing was that it wasn't her reflection.

It couldn't have been her reflection.

She refused to believe that the person that she saw on the glass was her. Everything was wrong! Her eyes were a bit too round, her face too smooth, her cheeks too flushed, her nose too small, her hair was brown and too short, like a boy's.

But then that meant…

With an increasing sense of dread, she looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a slightly dirty button shirt and blue shorts. Those were very boyish clothes. A bit too much for her comfort. For a moment, Melina wanted to scream, but she felt her own fear chocking her. She turned on the faucet and threw cold water on her face. She slapped her face, hoping that it would somehow return to normal.

No matter how much she tried, the same foreign visage looked back at her from the mirror.

She finally managed to break through her shock and let out a shrill yell.


	2. Chapter 2

"Luke!" The man stormed inside the bathroom. Melina really didn't care how he could get back so fast, but she was relieved to see him. Maybe he could explain what on earth had happened to her. Hopefully this would be a very strange, deathbed dream and—_ Who was Luke_, anyway?

"What on earth happened to my face?" she managed to verbalize, though as soon as she spoke the words she realized that a better word instead of 'face' would have been 'body'.

The man stared at him blankly for a while. "Your face is fine, my boy."

For some reason, the last two words made Melina wince.

"It's not _my _face!" she emphasized. Why was he on the hospital with her and not her father? Or maybe even Janice?

For once, the man seemed to understand what she was talking about. He then asked with almost insulting confusion: "…Melina?"

She sighed and nodded at him, did she even know this man?

However, her annoyance was gone as soon as she looked at the man's lips draw to a thin line and his eyes widen so. It was apparent that something was wrong, but she wasn't quite sure yet of _how _wrong.

"…Goodness…" the man touched the brim of his hat, looking down at her with fascination, curiosity and…sadness? "I-I will go get Janice."

Melina then remembered something that might be best to ask to the man now that they were alone.

"Wait!" she tugged at his sleeve and kept her gaze on the small pair feet that seemed to be hers. "Um…" That was when she realized that she was about to engage in the most odd conversation that she would possibly have in her existence. "H-how do I…go?"

"'Go?'" the man asked in a slightly loud voice. Or at least, a bit too loud for Melina's comfort. She could feel her cheeks (?) warm up.

" I-I really don't know how boys go and I need to…" she drifted away, hoping that the man would understand what she was very strongly alluding to. She could feel her cheeks (?) warm up, despite knowing that there was nothing shameful about asking about such things.

Especially now that she seemed to be a male. A male named 'Luke' of all things.

Fortunately, the man understood. Sensing her discomfort, he offered her a quick explanation and decided not to dwell on the subject before leaving her. That was twice in a row that he understood her, maybe her luck was changing around.

Melina applied her recently acquired knowledge. It felt like she was invading '_Luke's_' privacy, but there was not much that she could do now. Hopefully this would be over soon and it would be the last time she would have to do this.

After washing her hands, she looked at the reflection again. She remembered slapping the face that she now had not long ago, and it actually stung. That meant that she couldn't be dreaming. But if she _wasn't_ dreaming, and she _was not_ in her own body, then _how _did she end up like this?

"Melina?" the man stood on the doorway "Here is Janice."

Melina couldn't help but grin widely as she turned and saw her friend sitting on the bed. She never would have known how comforting to see someone that she knew until now! Everything about Janice was familiar and non-threatening: her favorite purple dress, her ponytail, her bracelets...she was even wearing the pendant that she gave her! It really matched her, now that she thought of it.

"Janice! Thank goodness you are here!" she walked up to her, but then remembered that she really didn't look like she used to. It must have been very odd for her friend.

"Melina," Janice looked at her and took a small breath. "I think that we should explain you the situation."

"Of course! I'm listening!" Melina eagerly sat next to Janice, finally she would know what on earth was happening!

"Well…" Janice turned her gaze to the man in the top hat for some form of encouragement "Just…take in everything we tell you for what it is, ok?"

Considering that she had just woken up in a hospital bed in the body of a boy that she was certain she had never seen before, she was quite sure that she would pretty much take any explanation that they gave her.

"Remember that instrument Mr. Whistler had been working on?"

"The Detragan?" Melina blinked. "What has that got anything to do with—"

"W-well," the red-head twirled with her hair for a bit "You see, it had the ability to record a person's memories and copy them to other people."

Melina decided to give the situation the benefit of doubt, despite how impossible it sounded.

"Right now," the man spoke up "your memories have been copied into a boy named Luke Triton. You already met him before, but it's most likely that you can't remember anything about that encounter."

It was a bit frightening that the name meant nothing to her. Melina half-expected some form of realization to hit her and suddenly remembering his life or something like that.

But nothing happened.

"So…what now?" Melina twirled with her—no, with _Luke's _thumbs. It was apparent that she must have looked like some sort of parasite to the man who seemed to know Luke well. However, he didn't give her a disapproving or disgusted look. Melina inferred that the man was polite enough to keep his thoughts to himself regarding that matter. She was quite grateful for that.

"Maybe we should do things to trigger Luke's memories."

"That seems easy enough." Melina looked at Janice, who was still looking at the man.

"What should we start with?" Janice asked him.

"He…has a way with animals. Maybe if we take you to the zoo something might happen."

"The zoo? May I come?" Janice asked.

"Oh please! Yes! Please let Janice come!" Melina tried to make her best puppy look at the man. She briefly wondered if it worked with a different face than hers.

The man chuckled slightly "Yes, I was going to suggest that. It might be best to have someone that you feel comfortable with accompanying you."

Melina knew that the situation was dire, but she couldn't help giggle. The zoo! The last time she had gone to the zoo must have been when she was twelve. She remembered that there were lion cubs. It had been a very relaxing and happy day with her father.

"Thank you, Mr…?"

"Oh!" Janice gasped "I'm sorry I didn't introduce you before! This is Professor Layton!"

Professor Layton? _The _Professor Layton? The archaeology teacher that Janice always talked about?

Melina felt a bit embarrassed at being rude to him not long ago.…But just a bit.

"It's a pleasure, Professor! Janice has told me many things about you. I just wish that the circumstances were better…"

"Don't worry," he smiled at Melina "I'll go make preparations while you talk with Janice." With that, he walked out of the hospital room.

"Janice…" Melina leaned back on the bed "how long has it been since I gave you my pendant?"

Her friend looked at her a bit sadly. "It has been a bit over a year."

"Wait…a year?" Melina tried to organize her thoughts. "How many people have had my memories copied into them?"

"I…I really don't know. Mr. Whistler was always looking for candidates. From what I know, only once—well, twice now—has the transfer been completed."

"Once? Was this the time that I met Luke?"

"Yes." Janice smiled at her sadly "But it's not surprising that you can't remember. The memories that were in the Detragan were taken shortly before you…"

Melina knew where this was going. "So I was still somewhat alive when they extracted my memories?"

"Yes." Janice looked at the pendant she was wearing. For two minutes, there was an almost perfect silence in the room that was only disturbed by the slight sound of the clock ticking.

Melina sighed and looked at her friend in the eye. "Janice, I want you to be honest with me: where is my father?"

Janice winced slightly, making it quite obvious that she didn't want to talk about it. "He's…been arrested for kidnapping several people. It is still debated whether he should go on trial for hindering with the minds of several people, though there are no exact numbers of victims."

Melina felt that Janice was talking about someone else entirely. Her father? The kind pianist Oswald Whistler? The man that could barely hurt a fly? The man that placed all of his money and soul unto trying to find a way to help her recuperate? He had been kidnapping subjects to force her memories into them?

"He…he actually did that…?" Melina looked at her friend in the eye. She knew that it must have been true, but that didn't make it easier to process.

"I'm sorry Melina. I should have told you about the professor being able to stop him before but…" she closed her eyes and quickly wiped away a tear "But you were so happy the first few weeks after the transfer worked. I knew that if I told you, you would have to leave again and I didn't want that to happen."

"Janice..." Melina wanted to ask her who had been the other person besides Luke that had completed the transfer, but decided that it would be pointless to ask about something so trivial now. "When I was in the other person's body…was I able to communicate with…the host?"

"Yes." She smiled wistfully for a second, and then furrowed her brows as she went deep in thought "...It's a bit hard to explain, but you just had to concentrate on the small voice on the back of your head to be able to do so."

Melina closed _Luke's _eyes and tried to hear anything that would resemble a voice in the back of her head or that would somehow point out the existence of the boy's consciousness. For a moment, there was nothing. How strange. If she was the 'guest' in his mind, then where was he? Was he maybe hiding? Why would he do so? Was he lost? Was he even there?

_"Please,"_ she thought intensely _"please answer me if you can hear me, Luke."_

There was still no response. Not even a meek memory nor a significant flash of illumination. She had never felt so alone. Not even when she was lying in bed during her last days, for she had the sound of sea constantly ringing in her ears and comforting her.

Melina opened his eyes. "Janice... I can't hear anything at all. It's like there's nobody there besides me."

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><p><strong>This is the longest chapter so far. It makes me so proud... ;-;<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

The doctors came to perform some last examinations. Since Melina seemed to be quite awake and responsive, they decided to not perform a full brain scan and just stick to some questions.

"So sweetie," the kind nurse asked her "do you know who brought you here?"

"I was told Emmy brought me here with her airplane." Melina tried to hide her nervousness as well as she could. She could only hope that the questions such as _'What's your father's age?' 'What school do you go to?' _and other questions that would concern Luke's life would not arise. Above all the possible questions that would give her away, there was one question she dreaded above every other: _'What's your mother's name?' _

If Melina could easily replace in her mind Luke's father with her own (whom she loved very much, kidnapping or not), she had no equivalent for her mother. It had always been her father and her. The possibility of having a woman that would look at her and think of her own child was frightening... and, why not admit it? Exiting.

"Do you remember the colour of the airplane?"

"No, not really." Melina could feel Luke's hands sweating. "I-I think that I was already out when they took me here."

The nurse wrote something down and smiled at her. Him. Same difference.

Soon, the small questioning ended with no mayor problems for Melina. In a matter of hours, she was discharged. It was a bit hard to judge what time it was with the artificial lights of the hospital but when she got out of it, she could clearly see the sun starting to set.

Layton decided to take both her and Janice to his home to spend the night, despite Janice saying that she could go to her house and that she was not shaken by the recent events. Whatever said events were. Melina would have asked for more information, but unlike her friend she was absolutely drained by all the news she had gotten that day. Anymore might result in her (Luke's?) brain getting saturated.

First, she learned that she was already dead and was now in a boy's body (who was named Luke Triton, odd name). The news about her death made her feel strangely calm, which might not be normal at all, but she was glad that she was not suffering an existential crisis...at the time. Then there was the whole tale about her father kidnapping people to force her memories into. Lastly, there was no sign of Luke in the back of her (their?) head.

The last was the most worrying. Melina was almost glad that she was too tired to actually spend the night wondering what that meant. She could still hear the professor and Janice talking in hushed voices when she fell into a dreamless sleep on the sofa.

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><p>The next day, a young woman wearing a bright yellow coat came to visit the professor. Melina was quickly introduced to her. As it turned out, she was none other than Emmy, the same person that flew Luke to the hospital on her airplane. Emmy seemed to have come to the professor's house to deliver something that he had asked her to bring.<p>

"Emmy; the professor, Janice and I will be going to the zoo." Melina commented to the professor's assistant "Are you coming too?"

"I'm sorry; I have to file some documents..." Emmy handed the professor a bag and took a thick binder from the coffee table with her as if to prove her point.

Emmy seemed genuinely sorry, though Melina wondered if she was trying to avoid her. It was a silly thought, and Melina tried to push it away as fast as she could, though it still lingered in the back of her head.

"Oh," the professor peered in the bag, surely checking its contents "I'm sure that a little trip to the zoo would-"

"No, I think that I should get to work as soon as possible. Getting my mind busy will help me."

"Very well then," the professor smiled "have a good day, Emmy."

"Yes," she turned to leave "good luck helping the second assistant."

"Of course," Melina stood on the door way as she saw Emmy's yellow moped whisk away from the professor's home.

Apparently, Luke was the professor's second assistant. How strange for someone so young to be helping the professor. There must be some important reason behind it. A reason that Luke Triton would know-

"Melina?" she heard the professor call out for her. "Could you please come here?"

Melina closed the door and walked to the living room where the professor and Janice were.

"Melina..." the professor held put the bag for her "Janice and I have been thinking and we decided to let you wear these."

"They might help you feel more comfortable." Janice hastily added.

Melina grabbed the bag and peered inside it.

There were a green summer dress and a blonde wig inside.


	4. Chapter 4

Melina was unsure of how to react. Part of her wanted to accept the gift and run get dressed. Part of her wondered if she should do so. She wouldn't mind wear a wig and a dress, but would Luke mind?

It wasn't like he could object her actions so forcing him to do something he might not want felt so wrong... But then again the professor and Janice might have a hard time remembering that she, Melina Whistler, was in Luke's body. Maybe dressing up would help them have a visual aid to know that she was there and make them forget for a moment that she was in some way stealing Luke's life.

With this reasoning, Melina grabbed the bag and excused herself. She unbuttoned Luke's shirt and took off his shorts. She then placed the pretty green dress over her head and looked at the reflection on the mirror.

Luke still looked like a boy, but wearing a dress.

…Maybe the wig would help.

Melina took out the blonde wig and looked at it for a while. Now that she thought of it, the shade was the same that her hair used to be when she was still alive.

She put on the wig and looked again at her reflection.

Now she saw a young girl on the mirror instead of a boy. However, the girl in the mirror could have easily been Luke's sister…if he had one.

In fact, if she tied her hair like so, squinted and turned head in a specific angle...she looked like she used to be when she was ten years old.

And then, she suddenly felt _ashamed_. Would this count as cross-dressing? Was it wrong? Melina _was _a girl in a boy's body… so did it still count as cross-dressing? Or was staying in Luke's attire cross-dressing? Melina began to think that maybe she should just go outside using Luke's normal clothes. But as soon as she began to reach for the wig, she remembered the professor's and Janice's faces when they saw her him in the hospital.

She decided to go with her "girl" attire. She _did _feel more comfortable wearing a dress. It might be easier for everyone else to remember when was happening to her and Luke…and it was probably going to be a hot day at the zoo anyway.

As soon as she got out of the bathroom, the professor smiled at her. Something in that smile made her feel that she had made the correct choice. Maybe she was right when she thought that using the dress would make the professor feel more at ease than having somebody that looked and talked like Luke but didn't act like him.

"You look very cute!" Janice giggled as she took her friend's hand and twirled her around.

"I must admit that that wig really looks a lot like your original hair color" the professor commented.

"Do you think he might mind?" Melina couldn't help but ask "About... dressing up?"

"I'm sure that if Luke were aware of the situation he would understand that a true gentleman always puts a lady's needs first."

"A-all right." Melina flattened a crease in the dress. "Should we go now?"

The professor drove them to the zoo. For some reason, there were not many people in the zoo, despite the fair weather.

First, the trio decided to visit the reptile house. Melina could feel the professor's attentive gaze whenever she got a bit too close to the cage.

…She certainly hoped that "a way with animals" didn't mean "looks delicious to animals". Just in case, she decided to step back from the cage a little.

Seeing that the reptile house held no significant developments, they decided to go see the lions. That day, the cubs were quite active and constantly play fighting, making several female onlookers coo and smile.

Melina and Janice were no exception.

"Ooh! Look at the one with the brown spot on its fur!" Janice pointed eagerly. "Aww…it went to curl up next to his mother!"

"I love lions!" Melina allowed herself to comment "They are like... big cats!"

The professor smiled at her "You like cats?"

"I _love _them!" she quickly answered "Although I've never had any cats in the house before..."

"That's good!" The professor's smile grew more. "Are any of you feeling hungry?"

"Hungry?" Melina concentrated on Luke's stomach "...I think so?" It had been a while since she had been hungry since she got sick. It took her a while to distinguish hunger from a regular stomach ache.

"Very well then, what do you want to eat, Melina?"

"Um…" Melina felt self-conscious for asking the professor for food. Especially since all the food on the zoo was most likely going to be junk food. But a familiar tug on her abdomen reminded her that she just had two pieces of toast with jam that morning and that would not do to carry both her and Luke through the day. She decided to go with the vaguest answer she could: "Anything, really."

"And you, Janice?"

"Oh," Melina's friend twirled with her hair slightly "it's all right, don't worry about me."

"I insist," the professor smiled "a true gentleman always helps a young lady in need."

"Well, if you insist, I would like some cotton candy please!" Janice didn't even bat an eye while making her request.

The professor chuckled slightly. "You have a sweet tooth, Janice? I can't stand more than a small bite of that. It's too sweet for me." the professor walked away from the lion cage "Please wait here."

Janice and Melina looked at the lion cubs play fight for a while.

"So…how are you feeling?" Janice asked.

"Hungry."

Janice giggled, though it was obvious that she was expecting another kind of answer "Does it feel weird to suddenly have the urge to eat after being ill for so long?"

It _was _at first. But now, Melina -and Luke- were too hungry to care. Before she could answer her friend, the professor came back. He handed Janice a large ball of cotton candy and gave Melina an ice cream cone.

Eating it was exhilarating. The cold sweetness of the chocolate ice cream, the crunchy cone that slowly turned soggy… even the trickles of melted ice cream that tried to escape through he-_his_ fingers tasted delicious. Needless to say, the ice cream was gone in a matter of minutes. Melina knew that if they wouldn't get brain freeze for eating something so cold so fast they would have eaten the entire thing in two bites.

"Are you still hungry?"

"Huh?" Melina looked up at the professor. She reasoned that after eating such a generous dose of ice cream, she should not be hungry anymore. However, Luke's stomach rumbled for more.

The professor smiled "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"I'm sorry professor," Melina sighed "it's just that-"

"Don't vex yourself, Melina. Luke always had a bit of an appetite. Remember that you are in his body, so it's natural for such things to happen."

It made sense. Luke was still a healthy growing boy and not a sick, grown lady. "Very well, professor."

"I kind of saw this coming," the professor handed Melina a grilled cheese sandwich "so I brought you a sandwich."

"O-oh! Thank you professor! But what are you going to eat, then?"

"Well, to be honest I had a generous breakfast, so I don't feel all that hungry." The professor sat on a nearby bench.

"You seem to be in a good mood, professor." Melina said before devouring the sandwich.

"Well, I must say that watching those lions sit around without moving a bit can make one feel quite at ease. Doesn't it make you feel relaxed, my b- Melina?"

"Yes professor. But I don't envy them for just laying around doing nothing…" Melina took a generous bite from the sandwich to stop her from mentioning that 'laying around doing nothing' was all she did when she got sick.


	5. Chapter 5

After visiting all the exhibits, Melina began to get tired. She barely managed to drag Luke's feet around. But her exhaustion wasn't only physical: she really didn't feel that they had made any real progress during the day. Luke was supposed to have "a way with animals" and in truth, she hadn't felt any sort of extraordinary connection with the animals. Her thoughts of despair were eased when she remembered that the professor seemed to be pleased with the day's achievements.

Maybe she should stop worrying herself so much…Right now she just wanted to brush their teeth, put on some pyjamas and go to sleep…

Wait, where were they going to spend the night?

With Janice? With the Professor?

…With Luke's parents?

Suddenly feeling awake, Melina got in the professor's car and decided to ask him directly: "Professor, do Luke's parents know about…you know…this?"

"Oh, they don't mind me taking Luke to visit the zoo like this." The professor buckled his seatbelt and turned on the engine.

"No! I meant…" Melina sighed "I meant that I'm on Luke's body and I have no idea of when or if their son will ever return to normal. Do they know that?"

The professor kept his gaze on the road. "No, they just know that I took Luke to the zoo so that he could recover after what happened in the Crown Petone."

"The Crown Petone…?" Melina squeezed Luke's eyes shut. That sounded vaguely familiar. Was it Luke's memories acting up?

"Oh, yes!" Janice glanced at the seat behind her "It was the opera house that the man that contracted Mr. Whistler was building for 'The Eternal Kingdom', remember Melina?"

That was right. Mr. Whistler always told her about that opera based on the legend of Ambrosia. Maybe it wasn't Luke's memories after all…

"Yes, I remember now. But let's get back to the matter at hand…" Melina flatted out a crease in her dress. "I know that we _should_ tell them, but how are we going to do so?"

"We need to gather the evidence." The professor pointed out "So that they can follow along the tale…" 

Evidence….What _could_ be used as evidence? It would help if she had a faint idea of what they were trying to prove, but the professor didn't seem to be bothered to explain to her what had happened.

"Oh! I know what we can use!" Janice suddenly commented.

"R-really?" Melina had almost forgotten Janice was also in the car.

"Luke kept a notebook about what was happening!" Janice smiled at the professor "I think we can use that to help them follow along!"

"Brilliant thinking, Janice!" The professor pulled in his house. "I think the notebook is on my coffee table...Oh!"

"What happened, professor?"

"I have an idea!" The professor turned off the engine and got off the car, making a motion for Melina and Janice to follow him inside.

Inside the living room, the professor already had a notebook in one hand, which Melina assumed that belonged to Luke, and a pen and some spare sheets of paper in the other hand. He set the paper on the table and handed Melina the pen.

"What is this, professor?"

"With this notebook we can compare your current handwriting with Luke's. I have a theory, but I'm still testing it. So, could you please write what I say?"

"Oh, that's brilliant professor!" Janice took one of the spare papers "May I also write?"

"Of course, Janice" the professor sat back and flipped through Luke's notebook. "We could use more information."

"'More information'?" Melina asked to the two.

"About the handwriting theory that I have." The professor said without really answering her.

Melina sat next to the coffee table. Janice sat straight in front of her.

"Alright, I'll begin now." The professor cleared his throat "'Puzzle, crown, Ambrosia-"

"Ambrosia?" Melina looked up from her writing. "Why is that on his notebook?"

"On our visit to the Crown Petone we found Amborsia." The professor commented matter-of-factly. Before Melina could ask how on _Earth_ he could say that they had found the rumoured kingdom that granted immortality so calmly, the professor returned to his dictation "'bedroom, king and…" The professor turned several pages. He suddenly stopped and flipped through the end pages of the notebook and smiled wistfully.

"Professor…?" Melina asked him.

The man was taken out of his distraction and looked at her blankly for two seconds. He then remembered what he was doing and finished by reading out loud something that was written on the back cover: "'Luke Triton'"


	6. Chapter 6

Melina tucked the buttoned shirt in the blue shorts. She combed Luke's brown hair and tried to flatten out the boy's rowdy cowlicks. After a while, she gave up and hid his hair as well as she could with his blue cap. She looked at Luke's reflection on the mirror. He looked presentable enough.

She could feel Luke's hands sweat. It was not surprising. Janice went to her house, so Melina was alone with a man that she had literally just met two days ago. That and that Luke's parents came to visit the professor at his request. In fact, they were downstairs with the man, listening to what had happened.

Now that she thought of it, neither Janice nor the professor told her what had happened in full detail. Why? Did they think that if they told her she would be more pressured to remember the events? Did they forget? Did they assume that she would infer what had happened?

Didn't they want her to know?

Melina slowly slid down the stairs. The living room, where the adults were seated, was near where she stood. However, she didn't dare try to get a glimpse of Luke's parents for the risk of being found out. Getting caught eavesdr- _listening in _wasn't a good first impression.

"Brilliant!" Melina heard a man with a deep voice talk "Just brilliant! And dare I ask what _you_ were doing when that maniac was brainwashing my son?"

"Clark," the professor's calm voice drifted up the stairs "I understand that you are angry, but that is no reason to be rude."

"I bet you were distracted by a puzzle!" Melina heard heavy footsteps, most likely Clark's, wandering in circles "No puzzle escapes your scrutiny! Mentally unstable men with dangerous machines? Oh just one, no problem! Well guess what? There _IS_ a problem—!"

"Clark," A woman sternly warned "that's enough!"

Melina remained as still as she could. She barely even dared to breathe. 'Mentally unstable man' were not the choice of words she would have liked to see her father described as. However, as impossible as it sounded, Mr. Triton held a certain degree of truth in his words. To try to copy your dead daughter's memories unto anybody _was_ a bit…odd.

Still, she had only heard the man's voice and he was already the most intimidating man that Melina had ever heard. Her father was very gentle and kind during her lifetime. Mr. Triton seemed very harsh. Melina felt Luke's hands grow sweatier and his stomach shrink.

"…I'm sorry Hershel." The man's tone made Melina wonder if he was on the verge of tears. "It's just…well… how could I have known that investigating a case would end like this?"

"It was a horrible accident." The professor stated simply "But I _beg_ you not to take out your anger on Melina. She is quite sensitive about the situation and-"

"M-Melina?" Mr. Triton's voice shook "I don't think you understand what you just told us, Hershel. He's still Luke. He just _thinks_ he's Melina. He might be able to act like her and remember every single detail of her life, but Melina has been dead for over a year. She is not of this world anymore. Recording her memories on other people's brains does not make them that person."

"I'm not sure of how the transfer was, Clark. But I know that it was not a simple mechanical insertion of memories. If it would have been as easy as that then all of Whistler's tries would have worked. No, this is...more complicated. It's like she is a separate person that shares his body. In most cases, the 'host' immediately starts erasing and repelling her the time that she gets in their—"

"You do notice that you are making my son sound mad? People are not supposed to have more than one personality."

"I know that it might sound weird out of context, but … I also used to think that it was as simple as you say, but if it were truly Luke with somebody else's superficial memories then this would not have happened."

"These is…?" Mrs. Triton mused "Oh, that's Luke's handwriting! But… whose is this?"

"That one on the paper is Melina's penmanship. Handwriting and the way we write can let on what's happening to a person on a deeper level. So, if it were truly a superficial job, then this handwriting would be the more like his and not this drastically different. Here, look at this one and the letter. See? The handwriting is the same. Now compare it to this one."

Melina wondered what 'this one' and 'the letter' meant.

"Well, but I think that people who get amnesia also have a handwriting change." Clark commented "this whole situation could be comparable with amnesia because he can't remember anything of who he was so he used the false memories to build his identity."

"But Clark—"

"This is all very fascinating, but I think this discussion about memories and personalities and the like should be saved for later." Mrs. Triton interrupted kindly "Whether Luke -or Melina- is upstairs, waiting for us to finish this never-ending debate matters not. We should try to focus on what we should do. To try to force Luke to the way he was would only result in a very unnecessary stress for him and Melina… as the case may be. I say that we let Luke return to who he was at his own pace. If Luke remembers himself –or if he returns to his body sooner or later then it would be because it was best for that to happen."

"…You spoke less than both of us and yet you said so much more." Mr. Triton chuckled heartily "now I remember why I love you so, Brenda."

"But of course!" Melina could hear Mrs. Triton's smile "Say, didn't you take your ex-student and Melina to the zoo today?"

"Yes, I noted that Melina seemed more at ease with changing clothes. With Luke's clothes she acts a bit more self-conscious than with other clothes. Which brings me back to what I was asking you earlier, Clark: don't take out your anger on Melina, or Luke, for that matter. Take out on me, if you have to."

"Well, I don't know what tabloid you've been reading, but I don't bully children. Just grown men with infantile reasoning." The man with the deep voice joked. "What other conclusions have you reached?"

"Well, it seems that Luke's legendary appetite is still intact."

Melina decided that she had listened in enough. She slowly walked upstairs to make sure that she wasn't caught. Fortunately for her, the atmosphere was less tense than a few minutes before. This would make things easier for her.

It was definitely not polite to listen in, but this information could prove to be vital…Maybe.

The professor insisted that she was Melina in Luke's body. Mr. Triton thought that she was Luke _thinking_ that he was Melina.

Out of the two explanations, she liked the first one better.


	7. Chapter 7

"Melina, could you please come downstairs?" the professor's kind voice asked her through the door.

Melina glanced the Luke's reflection one last time before following the man down the stairs into the living room.

"Yes professor!" She quickly opened the door and pretended to have just finished getting ready. In truth, she had been waiting for at least fifteen minutes, but she didn't want to make it too obvious. Mostly because if she pretended to have spent the time getting ready then the professor would never think that she had overheard his conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Triton.

"Come on then," the professor led her downstairs.

Melina already knew how they sounded like, but she had no idea at all of how the Tritons would look like. For all what she knew, they could be just like Luke or drastically different from him. It depended if the boy was adopted or not.

As soon as she entered the living room, Melina knew that there was no way that Luke _couldn't_ be their son. Luke had definitely inherited his mother's face, nose and wide eyes …maybe even her eyebrows, but Melina wasn't one for small details when it came to faces. Mr. Triton had given his son his characteristic shade of dirty blonde hair, along with the stubborn cowlicks at the base of the neck.

As soon as Melina had noticed what each parent had contributed to their son's appearance, she allowed herself to think that Mr. Triton was definitely possibly the most imposing man she had ever met. His voice was intimidating, but it paled in comparison to his unwrinkled suit and well-groomed beard. His image kept her on the edge, so much that she felt her hands sweat again. Mrs. Triton was a whole lot more gentle on her eyes: she inferred that it was Mrs. Triton's round face and soft curl what reassured Melina in some subconscious level. To see them standing one next to the other was a contrast, though definitely not a clashing one.

"Hello," Mrs. Triton smiled at her warmly "I'm Brenda Triton, Luke's mother."

"It's a pleasure," Melina wondered if she should hold out her hand for handshake. After two seconds, she decided that it would be too awkward for her to be hand-shaking her son in an overly formal way.

"Feel free to call me whatever makes you most comfortable."

Melina reached to twirl with her hair, but soon remembered that Luke's hair was a lot shorter than hers. She adjusted his cap instead.

What _should _she call her?

Well, she wouldn't mind calling her 'mother'. That name stuck with her.

However, if she called her that way, then she would have to call Mr. Triton 'father'.

And it felt weird to associate that word with the man that was sitting next to Mrs. Triton and not with Oswald Whistler.

"May I call you…Mum?" Melina asked the woman "Or do you mind?"

"No, not at all." Mrs. Triton made a motion for Melina to sit between her and her husband. As soon as Melina sat down, she smelled a pleasant and welcoming lavander aroma emanating from the woman. Mrs. Triton made a motion towards the man sitting next to Melina "This man is my husband: Clark Triton."

"Hello…"Melina took a second to pick her words carefully, for she knew what the man thought of her. "Do you mind if I call you Dad?"

"Don't worry, why should I mind?" Mr. Triton's face remained stoic. Not angry, nor happy. Just… stoic.

Melina felt Luke's stomach knit itself tighter. For a moment, she feared that Mr. and Mrs. Triton would end up looking at her breakfast. Fortunately, her fears were in vain.

The professor took the tea kettle and turned his eyes towards Melina. "Tea?"

"Yes please." Melina twirled with Luke's thumbs.

The professor quickly handed Melina a steaming cup of tea. She took two sugar cubes and carefully dipped them in the drink.

"We've been told," Mrs. Triton spoke up "about the extraordinary events that occurred during the professor's investigation on eternal life. Could you please tell us more? Do you remember anything?"

Melina dropped two more sugar cubes in her tea and looked at her as she whipped the liquid with a spoon. "Well…" Melina took a large gulp from the tea to avoid talking. What on earth was she supposed to tell the-

"Oh!" Melina forced the burning liquid down Luke's throat. However, it might have been better to spit it back out.

"Are you alright?" the professor leaned to check on her.

"It's nothing…"Melina assessed the damage that the tea made on Luke's tongue. It wasn't very badly scalded. "Anyway…well, I…I really don't remember being placed in his head. It just sort of…happened. One moment I was in bed at home and the other I'm at the hospital."

"Your father never talked to you about being brought back to life in case you died?" Mr. Triton asked as he took a small pastry from the table and dug his teeth in it.

"No. He didn't even hint at anything like that. The only thing that he told me was that he was working on an instrument that could generate the sounds of a complete orchestra and that he was also making an opera based on the legend of Ambrosia."

"Why did he begin to work on this opera?" the professor asked Melina.

"He told me that an eccentric man asked him to do it."

"This eccentric man…" the professor mused "Did your father tell you his name? Or did you ever look at him?"

"Well, I've never _seen_ him. However, he was the same man that built our house in the island where I spent my last days."

"Do you think that the 'eccentric man' that Melina is talking about…" Mrs. Triton frowned slightly at Layton, as if unsure of her own idea.

"Is Descole?" the professor completed her thought "But of course."

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><p><strong>This is the last thing I had managed to upload in the meme before comment screening got activated. If you want to read the first seven chapters in the meme as they were written, then send me a DM and I'll give you the link! Anyway, the next chapter will be up sometime soon, so don't fret.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**I told you that I was going to get the next part as fast as possible so... Here you go! Please forgive me for any inconsistencies in any aspect!**

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><p>"Descole?" Melina tugged at Luke's hat to look at the professor in the eyes. "You know the man?"<p>

"Unfortunately yes," Mr. Triton frowned "not the kind of fellow anyone would like to meet. I myself find him to be a brilliant brute. He's intelligent enough to build all sorts of machines, but he lacks common sense."

"Descole did everything: the Detragan, the Crown Petone, the game…all to find Ambrosia." The professor added.

"Why…would he do anything like that?" Mrs. Triton asked. "Couldn't he just find a less outrageous alternative?"

"I wouldn't bother trying to understand what is going through that madman's head, my love." Mr. Triton sighed and ate same some more of his pastry. "We now have to make do with his whims. Hopefully everything will be fine in the end."

"Actually, the only way to get to Ambrosia was by playing the three keys unlock it." The top-hatted gentleman brought the tea cup to his lips. "A song of the sea, a song of the stars and a song of the sun…"

"'A song of the sea'?" Melina perked up "You don't mean the song that I was writing down before I—!"

"Yes, that was the only song that he would never have been able to figure out on his own. He already had 'A song of the stars' and …well, he didn't know that he needed 'A song of the sun'. Regardless, of that: the only person that knew the third song to make Ambrosia rise was you."

"Well, that would make sense… but why is a song that I was composing supposed to be a key to bring back a legendary kingdom?"

"That's a good question." Mr. Triton looked at the professor. "Well, Hershel? Why should a song of a modern composer be a key to opening a legendary kingdom? I can understand something that was written in an ancient scroll or carved in stone or what-have-you."

"Well…in truth I was thinking about that and…." The professor tipped his hat at Melina and Mr. Triton. "…I would like to have some time to confirm my theory."

Melina turned to look at Luke's father. He was apparently not pleased by the professor's answer either. Maybe he wasn't that bad of a man. He was intimidating, yes, but not a monster.

Mrs. Triton suddenly spoke up: "I didn't know that you also composed music! I had heard about your father's work, but I would love to hear your own." She made a motion for the piano in the professor's living room. "I hope you don't mind playing for us one song."

Music. Melina loved music. Of course she wouldn't mind playing the piano. She loved music so much; she would spend most of time when she was alive playing the piano or humming songs. Maybe playing a bit would ease her nerves… she got up from the sofa and walked towards the instrument.

"You might want to warm up a little though," Mr. Triton added blankly "Luke only plays the violin."

"Oh really?" Melina didn't know that Luke knew how to play music. Maybe she should try playing the violin later to see if he remembered something… "I learned how to play the violin, but I never mastered it. It is a lovely instrument. …All instruments are lovely in my opinion though…" Melina sat on the hard wooden bench. She looked down at the black and white keys on the instrument. It was a welcoming sight.

She rehearsed the same warm-up practice she had used many times in her childhood when she could barely stretch her hands to cover eight notes. Although at first Luke's hands were predictably clumsy, the instrument's voice made it so that every note played on it sounded blissful. She didn't know how long it took her to get Luke's hands adjusted to move just the way she needed, but she didn't mind. She could repeat the exercise as long as she needed. You can't rush art.

Melina looked at the keys and remembered the main melody that she intended to bring. She placed Luke's tiny hands on place and pressed the keys without allowing herself to second-guess herself. The main melody, a tremolo here, a cord there, lighter, stronger, faster, slower…. every single thing she guided the boy's hands to do made perfect harmony. She couldn't bring herself to end the song and made variations on the main melody to extend its life. She changed the pace from playful to solemn at her own whim. For a moment, all what she could see were the black and white keys. All what she could hear was her very own song, living and breathing and so beautiful. All she could feel were the keys underneath Luke's fingers. All they –Luke and Melina- could be were the pianist that helped to bring the song to their audience.

Melina was so engrossed in the music that she didn't notice the three adults looking at her thoughtfully as she played.


	9. Chapter 9

She was not sure_ why_ she had accepted. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. But now, she honestly regretted having agreed to go spend the night with Mr. and Mrs. Triton. She had grown somewhat attached to the professor and his understanding, kind voice. However, even when she was in his company she didn't feel quite comfortable either. The only time when she had felt at a relative ease was when she was with Janice. Even then she felt a bit uneasy.

Luke's stomach twisted itself in a knot. Melina would not have been surprised if her constant fretting got Luke a rather displeasing stomach ache. So far, that had not been the case. But it remained a plausible outcome of her attitude.

She really needed to relax for both of their sakes.

…The thought made her more anxious. Brilliant. She_ had_ to do something to get her mind off things. But what should she do? She didn't feel quite brave enough to get out of Luke's room, where she had locked themselves in as soon as Mr. and Mrs. Triton opened the door with the excuse of feeling too tired. Fortunately for her, the couple understood that she needed some time alone and was allowed to go rest in Luke's room for as long as she deemed necessary. But spending time alone was probably not a good idea either, considering that she was now feeling more anxious than ever and…

Well….she was in Luke's room, might as well look at his belongings. It was his room, so it would be natural to expect anything in here to trigger something…that and she felt a bit curious at what she could uncover. It was a bit like piercing together a mystery from a novel. Only that instead of discovering who stole the priceless diamond or who murdered who, she was going to figure out who was Luke. What better place to start than his room?

Melina wandered aimlessly around the room. What should she look at first? The violin case next to his bed? The books in the overstuffed shelf? The toy box? The adorable teddy bear that was lying on Luke's bed? The model airplane? The jars filled with all sorts of assorted marbles that looked like candy?

No wait, candy that _looked_ like marbles. Clever.

Melina sucked on a candy-marble as she looked over the model airplane. The original instructions were most likely thrown away once the airplane was built, but Luke was cautious enough to leave a more cryptic set of instructions behind just in case. The new instructions consisted on a diagram of the plane with all of its parts assigned a number. However, to get the number of each piece she would have to solve simple mathematical equations and then see on the diagram where each piece went. It reminded her vaguely of the brainteasers that Janice told her to pass the time. She could try to solve that one later.

The teddy bear was worn. It must have been one of Luke's first toys, if not THE first toy. Melina made a mental note to be careful while handling the stuffed toy. She held it close to their face. The teddy bear's soft, worn material was excellent for hugging. So much that Melina allowed herself to squish the bear for a little while longer.

It was then that she noticed the scent that was impregnated on the stuffed toy. It was not an overpowering scent, but it definitely smelled faintly like lavender. Like the perfume that Mrs. Triton's was wearing that day.

Not wanting to let go of the teddy bear just yet, Melina dragged Luke's feet to the book shelf. She reached with Luke's left hand (for she had the teddy bear on his right) and took the first book that was at hand's reach.

"His Last Bow", by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock Holmes? How interesting, Luke must have been quite the mystery fan despite his young age. Melina had not been particularly interested in the genre until she was older. She was a bit more partial for Annie Dretche's books, but she enjoyed the classics as well. In fact… she never really got the chance to read this book in her collection.

She opened the book and sat on a nearby rocking chair with Luke's teddy bear on his lap. She was about to begin to read out loud when she stopped herself. What a silly thing, to read out loud to your stuffed toy! But then again…what if it was something that Luke did…?

She cleared Luke's throat and began to read "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" out loud to the teddy bear. So what if it was silly and possibly childish? She was enjoying herself and it was better than sitting around with a frown and wondering what on earth was going to happen.

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><p><strong>Yes, yes. I know these last two chapters were on the short side, but don't worry, they are still important. Like all the other chapters.<strong>

**Oh ho! Piqued your curiosity? I certainly hope I did! Feel free to reread as you deem necessary!**

**Oh boy, I can barely wait until I'm finished typing the next chapter! I can feel it. It's a good one...**


	10. Chapter 10

"Melina?"

Melina sat up from the rocking chair and frantically began to look around the room. The teddy bear and book fell to the floor. She had fallen asleep while reading a book to Luke's teddy bear. The room was very dark. She turned to the window. She could see some stars twinkling and the moon peeking though some clouds. How long did she fall asleep? It didn't feel long. She didn't even dream a single thing!

"Melina?" Mrs Triton knocked on the door. "Are you alright? What was that noise?"

"Ah, I'm fine!" Melina placed the bear and the book on the rocking chair. She then opened the door and was temporarily blinded by the light of the corridor.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Melina heard Mrs Triton say. "I didn't mean to wake you up like that!"

"Don't worry Mrs T- Mum. What happened?"

"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to eat supper with us if you weren't asleep." Luke's eyes grew adjusted to the light and Melina could see that the woman was wearing a comprehensively concerned expression on her face. "You seem a bit drowsy, though. Maybe it would be best for you to continue sleeping-"

"Supper would be lovely." Melina piped up. "Don't worry for me, I can stay awake long enough to eat."

"If you insist, then follow me into the dining room."

Melina nodded and follow the woman down the stairs and into the dining room.

It was a simple, yet elegant room. On the very centre was a round table, made out of stone… most likely marble. All the plates in the table had the same whimsical blue and yellow motif, and the glasses were of such finely cut bluish crystal that reminded Melina vaguely of a picture she saw of glaciers when she was a little girl. The silverware took the cake. It was not made out of ordinary steel, but real silver: a rarity in her…previous lifetime.

Sitting on the table was, obviously, Mr Triton. To his right was the place that his spouse took. To his left was the place where Melina supposed that Luke would take under normal circumstances. All seats were exactly the same distance from each other. Seeing that everything was set out for her, she acknowledged the presence of the man with a nod and took the seat left of him.

"Ah, Melina. What a pleasure to know that you could come have dinner with us." Mr Triton commented with the most polite and kind voice that any diplomat would kill to have. The statement confused her. It was…hard to describe. Melina would have never thought of what the man's impressions of her were with his stoic and cordial demeanour. In fact, she began to wonder if he_ had_ changed his opinion in the end. _What was his opinion of all what had happened, anyway?_

One thing was clear, though.

She was not being openly threatened, so she had no reason to defend herself.

"Well," Melina tried to think quickly of the best answer to not rouse suspicions "I wouldn't give anything to miss something like this. After all, we can't talk much if I'm sleeping all day."

"Are you still tired?" Mr Triton asked.

"Well, not that much, no."

The first course was a quite great smelling soup. Melina couldn't tell what was in it, but it smelled so _good_, she didn't care.

"Well, I think that we can talk as we eat." Mrs Triton smiled as she glanced at Melina, then at her husband. "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you, you too." Melina looked down at the steaming, delicious, bowl of soup. She then glanced up at Luke's parents. They were quietly tasting the soup.

Melina took the spoon next to her plate and slowly stirred the soup. It was hot. She had to be careful unless she wanted to scald Luke's tongue again. She scooped up a spoonful and slowly placed it on his mouth.

Chicken, there was definitely chicken in it. And…judging from the texture and the after taste, there had to be some egg in the mysterious and wonderful soup… and cream. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was probably one of the best soups Melina had ever tasted. Not _the_ best, but a good runner-up.

"This is delicious!" Melina allowed herself to comment before placing another spoonful into her mouth.

"Well, that's good to hear." Mrs Triton chuckled at her and smiled "To be honest it was my idea to serve this soup today. It's a special recipe. We usually only eat it during Christmas or birthdays and the like."

"Oh really?" Melina placed another spoonful on her mouth.

"We found that recipe by accident, really." Mr Triton dabbed his mouth with his napkin "Luke and I…well, Luke and I had for some reason or other had to prepare the soup that we will eat for my wife's birthday."

"I still remember how long it took to get the cheese stains off the celling." Mrs Triton sighed nonchalantly. "But it was worth it, I think."

That certainly sounded quite impressive. From the looks in the faces of the two adults, Melina knew that it was one of the family's most intimate and happy memories. She felt strangely honoured to be allowed to listen to the summary of the events, brief as it was.

"How did the cheese end up in the celling?" she asked as she placed the second-to-last spoonful of soup in Luke's mouth.

"Well, my husband never told me no matter how much I ask him." Mrs. Triton finished her soup and looked at her husband's and Melina's empty bowls. "Let's move on to the main course, shall we?"

If the soup was simply delicious, the main course was divine. It consisted of roast beef with Yorkshire puddings and vegetables. The beef was moist and tender. It had just the right amount of gravy and was cooked to perfection: not raw, but not overcooked.

Melina had to make a genuine effort to control her eating. She didn't want to overeat, but when she finished her share and asked if she wanted seconds…well, it was impossible to resist. All the family seemed to be completely immersed in the flavours of the main course that nobody dared to speak. For the remainder of the meal the only sound that was heard was the quiet clinking of the silverware against the plates.

It wasn't until Melina had put on Luke's pyjamas that she remembered that she wanted to ask Mrs Triton about the teddy bear in Luke's bed. She decided that it could wait until tomorrow. After eating such a rich and delicious meal, Melina felt so tired that she couldn't be bothered to go talk with Luke's mother.

She got into the boy's bed. The blankets were slightly cold and stiff. It must have been a while since Luke had slept there. Melina buried Luke's face against his teddy bear. Luke's breath was slowly warming up his cheeks. Unfortunately, Luke's feet were cold despite he was wearing socks. Melina got up from bed and rummaged in the darkness for another pair of socks. Her search was fruitful: she found a pair of woollen socks that seemed to irradiate heat.

Once her discomfort was gone, she placed got in the bed again, placed Luke's head against the pillow and closed his eyes. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

"_Mr Whister." Melina kneaded her hands as she looked at her father. "Why…are you calling your adopted daughter 'Melina'? I was under the impression her name was Nina..?"_

"_Well…" the bushy haired man smiled at her. "It's just a sign of affection, really."_

"_I…" Melina tried to look past him "really think that you shouldn't be calling her that. It's rude to give someone a nickname like that-"_

"_Oh, I don't mind!" came a little voice from behind Mr Whistler. A little girl with bright blue eyes and blond hair emerged from behind Melina's father. "Whatever my daddy wants to call me is fine!"_

_Melina looked at her in eye. "Then…would you mind if I called you Nina?"_

_The little blond girl shook her head vigorously and smiled at her._

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><p><strong>Ok ok, before we continue…I would like to say that I consider the movie's dub superior to the original Japanese one. *dodges "BOOO!"s from hard-core Japanese version fans* No seriously! And in fact, it helps me to knit the story better than the Japanese version. There are many reasons why. I'll only reveal to you two for the time being:<strong>

**The first being: Janice actually calling Nina by her 'real' name while everyone referred to her as Melina. Remember the scene where they talk on the boat? Of course you do.**

**The second being: listen to "A song of the sea" from the original soundtrack (youtube, I say, is the best place to begin). Then listen to Nina singing it while sailing on the Crown Petone. If you pay attention, you'll notice that _Nina doesn't sing the song properly._ And when she hums it to Luke? She gets the notes but hums the last part as a staccato (each individual note accented by interruption) instead of a legato (all the notes played without interruption) in the English version. In the Japanese version, however, she gets all the notes and little details right. Yes I know it's nit-picking but still…she never sings it 'correctly'.**

**I strongly recommend you to watch the movie with English dubbing if you haven't. I will try to write all what's relevant in the story, but if you like to get ahead and make your own conclusions, then the dubbed movie is the best place to start.**

**… I apologize if I made anybody feel hungry with this.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh yes, a little note before we begin: I forgot to ask this in the first chapter, but if you find any spelling/grammar mistakes then feel free to point them out to me and I'll try to correct them as fast as I can! (…and continuity issues. You can also point those out if you find any.)**

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><p>Melina sat up and looked around frantically. She then quickly realized that she was sitting in Luke's bed and that, fortunately, his teddy bear hadn't fallen off the bed. Of course, there were much more pressing things to think about instead of the well-being of a stuffed bear. Like what she had just <em>seen<em>. What was that? Was it…a dream? Yes, it had to be... Not that it made any bit f sense. He had never seen this girl named 'Nina' ever before so it must have been Luke the one that had met her yet… For some reason she couldn't fathom, in the dream she still felt that _was_ Melina. The dream had left her confused and with a strange buzz in the back of her head that insisted that what she had just dreamed was extremely important.

She couldn't afford to forget a single detail.

Melina got out of bed and scrambled towards the desk, where she frantically took out some spare paper and a pen. She wrote down as fast as she could with all matter of details that she could remember from the dream. However, the dream had felt so_ real_ it was hard to move from one particular scene without filling a side of the paper with tiny scrawls giving all sorts of miscellaneous details. Once she was sure that she had written everything that was worth remembering down, Melina set the paper aside and carefully tiptoed outside the boy's room.

Right in front of her in the hallway was a telephone. She unhooked it and- set it back down. Who was she supposed to call? She didn't know the professor's number, her father was in jail, her mother's family refused to acknowledge that she existed and Janice was going to spend all day long at the conservatory for a job.

She didn't need to use the telephone to get in contact with the closest people she could talk to.

She tip-toed towards the main chamber of the house, where both Mrs and Mr Triton slept. Judging from the blue light that the nearby window allowed to let in, it must have been early in the morning. She didn't want to wake them up, for some reason that she couldn't really understand since even if they were asleep she would have to wake them to tell them what had just happened.

Fortunately for her, she didn't need to ponder on whether she wanted to wake them up or not. The married couple was already getting started on their daily routine, although judging from the look of their faces, said routine should take place maybe two or three hours later, when they were fully rested.

"Good morning." Melina knocked on the slightly ajar door. "May I come in?"

The man turned towards the door and said: "Oh, of course! Do come in!"

"Melina? What are you doing at these early hours?" Mrs Triton set down her comb and turned towards her. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"I have something important to ask you." Melina looked at the kind woman's eyes. "Did Luke ever know someone named Nina?"

"Nina?" The woman turned to her husband "Isn't that the… girl Hershel told us about yesterday?"

"What girl?"

"What…you don't know?" Mrs Triton looked at her with disbelief. "Didn't the professor tell you anything about what had happened?"

"Of course not! The most I know was what Janice told me in the hospital. She told me that my father was building a machine to copy my personality unto other people and that's it."

Mr Triton pulled up his tie "…I guess that gives us a decent reference that Hershel had been having his head on the clouds. We will tell you all what he told us. It's basic courtesy."

"Yes, please." Melina stepped into the room and leaned on the door. She was glad that finally somebody had taken the time to explain whatever had happened after her "death". She would have been absolutely furious towards the professor if she could afford it but the circumstances made it so that she would have to express her remorse towards the man at a later time.

According to what the married couple told her, Nina was the name of a girl that had been kidnapped for Mr Whistler's experiments with the Detragan. She was the one girl that managed to assimilate most of her memories, though the copy hadn't been perfect, so it had left her somewhere halfway between being Melina and being Nina. Melina knew that she was going to be a precious lead in this bizarre case.

However, when she asked if Nina was the only one that had the transfer completed, she realized that it wasn't only the professor who had kept a massive secret from her.


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter is mostly exposition that had to be done at some point or other, but I really enjoyed writing it. I hope that you enjoy reading it!**

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><p>The air seemed to hang, stale and foreboding, over the table. It was as if it knew that Melina was not in the mood to deal with even a whimsical breeze that would upset the huge stack of papers that she was studying. The papers in question were letters, essays and the like. All of them were authored by Luke.<p>

She enjoyed reading what the young boy wrote. It helped to distract her from the fact that her best friend had simply _forgotten _to mention that she had technically had been her host for over a year. All of Luke's letters seemed to show a certain naïveté and simplicity of soul that she sincerely felt a bit jealous of at the time. Melina supposed that if Luke had somehow been in her situation, he would readily forgive his best friend and move on. However, it was impossible to think that he would ever be in such a situation because the boy's father was as level-headed as they came and not an avid dreamer like her own father. That and Mr Triton knew to not trust Descole.

She heard someone enter the room. She couldn't be bothered to look up at whoever it was, though she had a decent idea of who it was.

"Good morning Melina," Janice said as she adjusted her ponytail in place. "You seem to be fine today. It seems that you are getting adjusted to be in a different body quite fast."

"Oh, I suppose that it's just about as fast as I did with you." Melina flipped over a fascinating essay about the benefits of pet gerbils. "Once you get over the sensation of overstaying your welcome, you begin to see the little blessings: like being able to move around without feeling dizzy or being able to read scores without having the notes jump before your eyes."

Janice had the decency to not be amused by Melina's words.

"So, how did it go on the conservatory?" She finished reading the essay in her hands and turned her eyes towards her friend. In all honesty she was not in the mood to have small talk with Janice, but she wasn't also in the mood to ask her the many questions that she had.

"The director broke his leg by falling off the stage."

"Oh that's too bad." Melina began to think of any other subject she could bring up to avoid the issue for a little more. Janice would not have any of that.

"Melina, I am sorry for not telling you before about what happened. I know I should have done so before but..."

"But what?"

"But I never got the chance."

"Hm...I suppose that all that time we were alone at the zoo wasn't enough?"

"We needed a lot of time to be able to discuss this."

"I have a lot of time right now. How about you tell me now?

The red-head sighed. "Fine then, what do you wish to know?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Melina sat back and made a motion to invite her friend to sit. "I want to know all what you know. You may begin after my death."

Speaking of her own death, for some reason, didn't seem to phase the young lady anymore. The words rolled out of her (or rather, Luke's) tongue without a second thought. Janice still winced when Melina spoke of the event.

The singer managed to sit down on the little table across the paper-covered desk in her shock.

"M-Mr Whistler told me that there was still hope for you. He asked me if I wanted to offer my help to the cause."

"He..._did _tell you that you were going to have my memories implanted unto you, right?"

"No, not at all. He told me that he needed my own memories to help. He set me up on the Detragan and told me to remember all the times we had been together." Janice tucked her hair behind her ear. "But then I noticed that something was off about what I was remembering. It was almost as if… I was remembering the events from your point of view. I realized that I was having your memories placed in my head and for a moment I tried to stop it. But then…I decided not to fight it. I tried to make myself as scarce as possible and take in everything. As you can tell…it worked."

"What happened after that? Were you aware of what was happening?"

"Yes. I could watch what you did and sometimes what you thought but that's it. Sometimes we would talk. I never really asked you how you did it, but I suppose that you just concentrated on me or something? I know I sound crazy when I'm saying this but….well it's the truth."

Janice shook her head and resumed her tale.

"A-anyway: I suggested that you go enjoy being healthy again. We went to the fair, to the park….But there was something wrong. You seemed a bit disheartened. For a while I didn't dare to ask you what was bothering you. But then Mr. Whistler and Descole kidnapped Nina and copied your memories into her. When that happened, you asked me what we could do to stop them."

"Your plan…" Melina tugged at Luke's hat "involved calling the professor?"

"Yes. We were going to tell him everything in the letter, but you decided not to because it would be easier if he saw everything for himself and he would be more willing to believe the events than if we had told him everything from the start."

"Why…" Melina blinked away some stray tears and looked at her friend on the eye. "Why didn't you stop the transfer when you had the chance?"

"Because… because I truly wanted you to be back. Even if I probably would never get a chance to speak to you. Because I knew that it would make everyone so happy to be with you."

Melina knew that Janice meant what she said. Despite that, she couldn't understand the reasoning behind her friend's actions. Melina reached to the conclusion that Janice just acted on impulse in the heat of the moment, because in all honesty, she didn't think that her presence was enough to warrant changing a year of Janice's life for allowing her to live a little longer.


	13. Chapter 13

**I suppose that I should have mentioned in the last chapter that I was going on vacation until August, but I just figured that it would be pointless or that nobody would even notice. Well...it turned out that people actually noticed. I am very sorry for my lack of foresight! So, my dear readers and reviewers, I offer you this humble chapter as a sign of appeasement!**

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><p>To say that she felt completely blank would be an understatement.<p>

Not shocked. Not confused. Not angry.

Just blank.

Melina would have remained there, sited on Luke's small desk chair, absorbed by the silence that lingered in the air after Janice told her about how they had managed to coexist in a kind of symbiosis one year after her death. The mere thought of having walked around in front of her father, pretending to be Janice and trying to convince him to let Melina just rest in peace for once and for all...it was exhilarating. The only reason as to why she had avoided revealing herself to her father was plain and simple: he wouldn't have minded to steal Janice's life if he got to see his daughter once more. Melina's death had changed him into someone that she could barely believe was the same man that had risen her alone.

The only thing that shook her from being absorbed by the quicksand of blankness was a small nudge on the back of her head that told her that now she had to help Luke: that she had to do everything in her power to save him.

From what?

She had no idea, but there was a sense of urgency in the present situation.

She broke the silence, her- no, Luke's voice sounded a bit dryer than normal.

"How did it happen?"

Janice blinked in surprise and looked at her dear friend in the eye. "What?"

"How did Luke end up like this? The professor, when he saw me in the hospital, didn't expect to see me like this. It was obvious that something happened. What was it?"

Janice sighed. She then began to speak. And as she spoke, Melina set Luke's head on his desk and looked at her red hairs slowly come out of focus and fade into a nondescript redness that swallowed his (or her?) vision.

_"It pains me to say that my personal favourite didn't make it to this stage in the game for eternal life. So, I brought you all the finalists. It's up to you to chose the ultimate 'winner'." A man with a mask and impractical clothes droned._

_Melina was standing right behind the man. To her left was a plump man -Marco Brock, that was his name right? Yes, that had to be it. To her right was a short boy with a blue cap. They were the only people left who, technically, had won. Everyone else was gone. Gone was her mystery author idol, Annie Dretche. Gone was the prodigious chess-master Amelia. Gone was the professor. He had just decided, on the last puzzle, to just l**eave** them because of a hunch that he needed to investigate._

_His hunch was right, of course. His hunches were always right. The professor had an "extraordinary intuition", as Janice had told her._

_Oswald Whistler took a step forward and frowned upon looking at the finalists. He turned towards the Detragan, who was reassembled to it's full glory from the Crown Petone. When he had shown her the plans for the Detragan, it looked like a whimsical yet funny contraption. Now that she was standing right in front of it and had a chance to really take a close look at it, it looked foreboding and dangerous._

_"None will do" her father declared flatly, as if he were talking about what coat to wear before a concert and realized that none was good enough for the performance._

_"For what?" the boy with the blue cap -Luke- yelled at him "What are you even working with Descole?"_

_The two men that were in front of them ignored him._

_"...You shouldn't have sold all those tickets!" Melina's father pushed his glasses back "Now look at all what this has done!"_

_"We can't afford to just try every person that came up." Descole replied as he stepped up close to the machine and took out a huge key from who-knows-where. "Thanks to the filter, we found out that these are the best candidates."_

_"We can't afford to lose time!" Oswald yelled with such ferocity that she had never seen before. "We only have an hour left!"_

_Melina widened her eyes. This was great news. If her father decided that there was nobody that could take on the job of playing her part, then he would finally accept that she was gone. It was sad to see her own father like this, but it was better than to see young girls (like Nina, oh God, poor Nina...) confused about who they were for weeks if they were lucky._

_"I have an idea." Whistler scratched his head and, with his back still towards his daughter and the other prisoners, spoke to Descole. "Is it possible to re-enter them?"_

_"Only if them come from an alive subject."_

_"Wh-what are you talking about?" the middle aged man stuttered "You said that the last person standing would get the elixir of life!"_

_He was ignored._

Descole stepped close to the machine and, after pressing some buttons and turning some levers, made the machine come to life.

_"What about Nina?" Melina's father continued as he searched desperately for alternative solutions to his dilemma._

_"Too unstable. Not to mention that she couldn't assimilate everything, remember? But don't worry, I'm sure that one of the finalists will do. You can chose the first one, and if that person work we could try the second one. If we have time." Descole spoke with the enthusiasm that a game show host would have._

_Whistler finally turned to look at them in the eye. Melina felt a chill in the air when their eyes met. For a moment, she thought that he would recognize her. But that was not the case. His grief had blinded him to the extent of not being able to see that before him was his little daughter, only that she was in her friend's body. The chance to be able to make that contact was lost before she could open her mouth and scream out how much she was worried about him doing such things to other girls and that he had to stop now that he had the chance._

_Oswald Whistler rose his arm and pointed at Luke._

_Several goons immediately held him and forced him over to a seat that was conveniently placed nearby. Melina turned her eyes on the Detragan's key. If she took it now and hit it, she could buy them more time. She took a step forward-_

_And was held back by a grunt that had stayed behind._

"_No!" The blue-capped boy yelled as he tried to wriggle off the four grown goons. He stuggled and kicked and bit. None of his hits landed in a satisfying way. "Stop it!"_

_Melina couldn't stand back any more._

"_Please! Stop!" Melina begged with all of her being "Don't do this!"_

_The thugs placed Luke on the seat and kept him still. Mr Whistler took off his cap and replaced it with a strange helmet that suddenly whirred as soon as it was placed on his head._

_Melina turned her eyes on the amateur historian to see if they could make any sort of distraction. He was looking away, at the small seat where the boy was stuggling and trying to take the helmet off._

_With a decisive swipe, Mr Whistler brought down the lever._

_Luke let out a strained yell that slowly faded out to nothing in his throat._

_The only thing that broke the silence afterwards was the Detragan's beeping noise._

She sat up.

"Melina?" Janice asked "Are you feeling all right?"

Melina rubbed Luke's eyes. Did she fall asleep? Well, that didn't matter now.

"Do you want me to go let you sleep?" Janice asked.

"No, I want you to tell me something. Janice, remember the day I woke up in the hospital?"

"Yes...?"

"The professor talked to me as if I were Luke: he didn't expect me to act unlike him. Why?"

"Well, that's because when Luke woke up he acted like he always did. The professor said that the reason was that even if his brain took all of the Detragan's memories, it went straight to his subconscious because the way a boy's brain works might be different from a girl's brain. He was fine! The last time I saw him was when Emmy took him away to the hospital because he was hurt in an explosion that happened afterwards."

"So Emmy was the last person that knew what happened to Luke before I woke up!" Melina remembered the day that Janice, the professor and she went to the zoo "_That's_ why she was avoiding me! She must know something! Has she mentioned anything to you or the professor?"

"Not to me, and if she has told anything to the professor then he hasn't informed me about it." Janice's eyes were bright. Melina knew that glow in her friend's eyes too well. It was the same glow that they had whenever she would begin to understand one of her archaeology assignment puzzle.


	14. Chapter 14

The Triton family's living room was packed. On the longer sofa, Emmy was seated on the centre, the professor to her right and Janice to her left. Mr and Mrs Triton were sitting on the smaller sofa in front of the larger one. Melina was standing by a chair that she just didn't feel like occupying.

This was it. There was no denying that finally, after hitting so many dead ends, she had finally taken in a lead that would actually take them _somewhere_.

"So, Emmy..." the professor set down his tea cup on the table. "It seems that Melina thinks that you know something that would greatly contribute to our investigation."

The young woman in yellow sat back on the sofa. Her face, though not visibly tense, was more serious than would be normal. When she spoke, there was a certain deliberate air to her words. As if she had been thinking over and over again about what to say if this situation ever arose.

"Well, it's not much, really. I put Luke in the seaplane and flew off as fast as I could to anywhere that had a decent body of water where I could land and was close to a hospital." Emmy traced the rim of her own cup of tea in feigned absent-mindedness "He was knocked out for a while, but when we were halfway through he woke up."

"He woke up?" Mrs Triton rose her eyebrows "I think that's actually more than 'not much'!"

"A-anyway..." Emmy continued, a small blush on her face "he was really disoriented: just like you would expect from someone with a concussion. It took him a while to understand that I was taking him to the hospital because of the explosion. He thought that we were going to shoot down Descole's giant machine or something like that."

"...Descole's giant machine? You mean... the Detragan?" Melina asked.

"Not really," the professor replied with a cordial smile "he had a back-up plan in mind if he couldn't attain Ambrosia by the conventional means. The machine that Emmy is referring to is a giant excavating machine that he was using to destroy the island and find the ruins that should be anywhere within it."

"That's..." Melina tried to find the most polite way to judge such act of madness. She then realized that there little to no point in doing so, especially that it was this man's fault that all of this mess occurred. "not very bright."

Mr Triton sniggered in approval at her description.

"How long was he awake?" the professor turned to Emmy, taking her slightly by surprise.

"Well...not much. He had just understood that we were going to the hospital when a sudden gust of wind hit us and almost made us nosedive into the sea! It was really complicated to get back to a decent altitude because the wind kept pushing us down. I don't know how long I tried to make us fly above the winds! To be honest, I thought the engine would give out from all the strain I was putting on it."

"How did you manage to survive!" Janice gasped.

"It was really weird!" Emmy replied "Another gust of wind suddenly pushed us upward and away from the sea. It was hard to stabilize the machine because of all the wind. When I asked him if he was fine I didn't hear him answer. I turned around as well as I could and he seemed to be asleep."

Everyone in the room remained silent. Emmy spoke again " ...I think that the blood rushed away from his head when we regained altitude."

"Wait a second..." Mr Triton stroked his beard, his voice deep "what did the doctors said about this? Did you...actually mention this? Because if they knew, then they would have found something relevant..."

"They said that I was fine," Melina answered "They just asked me some questions and let me go."

"..." the professor frowned. From the looks of it, he was also thinking the exact same thing as Mr Triton. He didn't speak, though. Maybe he thought that since his friend had mentioned it first he had the right to finish the idea himself.

It wasn't Mr Triton who spoke first, though.

"We should go back to the hospital," Janice sat up from her seat, her eyes bright with determination "they should have performed a more in-depth analysis because collapsing twice in the same day is too much."

The professor nodded. Mrs Triton paled. Mr Triton stroked his beard. Emmy remained silent. Melina sat up and followed her friend out the door and into the street. She had no idea where the hospital was, so she just had to trust on the red-head's sense of direction.

Unfortunately for her, Janice was just about as clueless as to where the hospital was. But it didn't matter. Because they were quickly joined by the professor, kindly asking them to get on his car while Emmy and the Tritons made arrangements to get to the hospital themselves.

Melina got in the back seat and buckled the seat belt. Luke's legs were so comically small that they barely reached the bottom of the seat. It so ironic that it was now that she was noticing that and not before. Maybe she had been too distracted thinking about what to do to return Luke to normal?

She turned to look out the window. The sky was overcast, like it had usually been on London when she lived there with her father.

Her father. As much as it would be tempting to go visit him...Melina knew that once she saw him in the eye, she would be unable to keep the secret to herself. It was funny though, she had kept the secret that she was still living in Janice's body to herself for a little over a year. Why would it be different to do that in Luke's body than in Janice's body?

Maybe because Janice had helped her? From what she could grasp, Janice was always willing to offer some advice or insight during their year of coexistence. So far, there was no sign of Luke... if there was, nobody had bothered to tell her. But she knew that the second thought was unlikely. She should know, better than anyone if anything happened with Luke.

Just in case, she closed his eyes. She thought with all of her might.

"_Luke, are you there?"_

There was no reply.

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><p>Before Melina could even begin to wonder what the professor was going to tell the doctors to get the second opinion they wanted, all of the tests were done and they were sitting in a consultation room. Janice played around with her necklace. The professor touched the rim of his hat and remained silent. Melina wondered where Emmy and Luke parents were.<p>

A middle aged man with a lab coat entered the room hastily. He had a pen in his right hand and a clipboard with several charts on his left. He looked at the professor. Then at Janice. Then at Melina. He left to check the room number. After looking at the room number and the charts at least five times, he walked in the room. His eyes were so wide that for a moment the ex-composer thought that his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.

"Doctor?" the professor finally asked. "Are you all right?"

"..." the doctor stared at the scans, then at the professor. "Who was the person that got these done today?"

"Me." Melina replied. "...is there something wrong mister?"

The doctor scratched his head. "That's impossible, young man."

He took a small flash light and turned it on. He shone the light on Luke's eyes, making Melina blink.

"You are too responsive. Your pupils retract to light. You can talk coherently and seem perfectly aware of your surroundings," the doctor sighed. "Someone must have made a mistake. Please wait for a second, I'll be right back."

And he left.

"Well, that was largely a waste of time." Janice commented with an awkward giggle.

"..." the professor tipped his hat.

"Professor, what are you thinking about?" Melina swung Luke's tiny legs back and forth while sitting on the consultation room's bed.

The looked at her with slight bewilderment. "Excuse me?"

"You are thinking about something, right?"

"..." the professor smiled "Yes. I am thinking about what the doctor said."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"I'm not certain. It could mean a lot of things," the professor continued "but something tells me that this is of critical importance."

The doctor walked into the room. His face was sombre, yet his eyes were bright. He wordlessly looked at the charts and sighed. "We have never seen a case like this."

"A case...like what?" Janice asked.

"It's hard to describe..." the doctor massaged his temples."

Somebody quietly knocked on the door. A young nurse peeped into the room. "Doctor? I have some people asking to enter the room where Luke Triton is. Should I let them in?"

"Are they a married couple and a young lady?" the professor asked "Because if they are, then they are with us."

The nurse nodded "Yes, they are. Should I let them in, doctor?"

The doctor nodded at the nurse and soon enough, everyone was gathered in the room.

"I suppose that I should first tell you two things," the doctor said as he placed the charts on "the first is what should be happening and the second is what I understand -and my knowledge is painfully limited in this area- that is actually happening regardless of what _should_ be occurring."

Everyone remained silent, waiting attentively.

"Now, on his first visit, young Luke was known to have a small concussion. However, since he regained his senses quite quickly, it was considered pointless to keep poking and prodding at him. We inferred that the dimension of the concussion was that of rugby players and the like: since he is young, it would be natural to expect that his body to be less resistant to such hits. However, the scans that you asked us to perform today indicate that there was much more damage done than expected."

Mrs Triton kneaded her hands. The doctor continued.

"The extent of the damage is such that if I would only have the scans to base myself, I would infer that the person in question is a young male that was most likely in a car accident and ever since the accident has been on a completely unresponsive if not borderline vegetative state. That's what it should be, according to the data and common sense."

"B-but that's not happening!" Janice spoke up vigorously "He's perfectly fine!"

"That's exactly what seemed strange to me" the doctor replied. "Regardless of the data collected, Luke is as healthy as any young boy could be."

"Isn't there anything that can be done? Anything...at all?" Luke's voice squeaked out of his throat. Melina could feel his heart beat faster and his little hands sweat.

The doctor patted Luke's back warmly "Perhaps it would be better to leave it as it is instead of trying to help you in something that you don't need since it could only worsen your condition."

Melina shook her head. For some reason, she knew that there was something to be done and she was going to see it though to the end. "No, we _have_ to do something. I think that if we leave things as they are then it would be unhealthy. I want to do whatever that can be done to make those scans show how I really am."

Everyone stared at her in silence for a long minute.

"There is no known procedure to be done." the doctor insisted "The data contradicts itself and we can only work on theories.

"Then work on your theory." Melina ordered simply "if the one that you think is most likey doesn't work, then use another one."

"B-but," the doctor insisted "aren't you worried about what might happen? If we make a wrong choice then you could never wake up ever again! Not to mention that you are a minor and we need permission from your parents-"

"They are fine with it." she turned to look at the couple that was looking at her with certain awe "Is that right: mum, dad?"

"Yes," Mr Triton's voice didn't waver at all "as far as I am concerned I agree with that."

His spouse looked at him with disbelief. He looked back at her. She sighed, closed her eyes and said: "I also agree."

Needless to say, the doctor was surprised.

"...We can try to induce you a coma using drugs and then let you slowly recover" he finally said. "If this theory works... when you wake up again, then the scans should be consistent with the brain activity that you actually have, like it should be."

Melina didn't need any more information to know that that was exactly what she had to do. She was not sure why, but she felt that doing this would resolve everything. It was silly to be so certain about something without any form of evidence, but when there was no evidence to rely on she might as well take the professor's approach: follow her intuition.

"Let's do it. Do we need to sign any papers or anything?"

"Your parents have to," the doctor gripped his clipboard and opened the door. "We'll go sort this out with them but you can later talk to them before we begin the procedure."

Melina nodded earnestly. With one last look, Mr and Mrs Triton let the room with the doctor. Emmy, suddenly feeling the need to go to the lavatory, stood up and left the room too.

As soon as they were certain that they were far away, Janice spoke up.

"Are you sure of this?"

To be honest, yes and no. Melina was not sure if it was a wise choice to jump straight for the first thing that the doctor suggested, yet at the same time was completely convinced that it had to be. How could be that someone were so certain yet unsure of the same thing at the same time? It didn't matter now, though it greatly bewildered the musician.

Melina got off the consultation room's bed and took off Luke's hat. She ran his hand through his unruly hair. She then laughed. It was not an upset laugh that tried to hide any sort of fear or worry. It was a genuine, clear, hearty laugh.

"Janice, I don't know why you are so worried! There is nothing to be afraid of!"

"Of course there is!" Janice retorted, clearly annoyed at how her friend was taking the situation "What if the experiment doesn't work?"

Melina calmed down upon looking at how deathly serious Janice was.

"But what if you never wake up again?" Janice cried.

"Janice..." Melina glanced at the professor, then at her friend. "..are you more worried about me than about Luke?"

"What?" the red-head was taken aback.

"...If Luke would have been like the doctor said he should be, would you be worried for him?"Melina continued.

"Of course I would be worried!"

"Then you shouldn't be worried now" Melina retorted "I wasn't supposed to _be_ here in the first place. If it helps Luke, then that would be great. If it just leaves him unconscious, then he was technically supposed to be like that. But you know that I can't stay in his body. Either way I would end up leaving."

"But...!"

"But what? You don't want me to leave?"

Janice's eyes glittered with tears. Melina smiled sadly at her.

"We can't do anything about it, Janice. I-I think that..." Melina fitted Luke's hat on his head again. "If I somehow managed to awaken in Luke's body despite all of how impossible it was, then it was for a reason and that reason was not for me to be wasting Luke's life away."

Janice shook her head.

"I've been thinking for a while about what the doctor said..." the professor spoke up "and everything seems confusing but what you just said makes it sense."

"Really?" Melina rose Luke's eyebrows "How?"

"It is true that everything seems impossible. If Melina can act freely in Luke's body, then it couldn't be a coincidence. I say that we should trust her judgement. If she thinks that performing this test will help Luke, then I am quite sure that it will help him in some way of another."

"Professor..." Janice dried her tears. "I'm sorry. I'm being childish."

"It's ok Janice!" Melina took her hands and looked at her in the eye "If it weren't for the situation, it would be really strange for someone to ask to be placed into a coma after a doctor suggested it!"

Janice laughed "Yes, I guess that's true."

"Don't worry about what happens to me, Janice." Melina smiled "There is no other person that still has my memories besides Luke, right? That's a relief: it would be really annoying that all of this happened all over again."

"If it does then I promise that I will tell you everything from the beginning." the professor commented with a light chuckle.

There was a quiet rapping on the door. The doctor and the married couple stood on the doorway.

"It's time to set everything up," The doctor declared.

* * *

><p>The hospital gown felt cold and clean against Luke's skin. Melina would have shivered, except for the fact that she was now lying on a bed with Janice, the professor and Luke's parents standing next to her.<p>

"Melina, thank you so much for everything." Mrs Triton said warmly. "We took so long to get here because I wanted to bring something along and the hospital staff was a little unsure of whether to let it in or not."

"Something? What is it?" Melina asked, a bit more curious about the object in question than in the woman's sudden thankfulness towards her.

With a small smile, Mrs Triton took something from a bag. It was a worn, yet quite "huggable", teddy bear.

"You brought ..." Luke's voice was full of wonder.

"Luke really likes this teddy bear, even he doesn't admit it now so often as before. I know that he will be glad to have something that soothes him when he wakes up. So, if you don't mind..."

"I would love to!" Melina eagerly took the stuffed toy and held it close. The soft smell of lavender wafted from the teddy bear. "Thank you so much for bringing this!"

Mrs Triton smiled sweetly back.

Melina looked at her, then at Mr Triton. He was standing behind her, his expression somewhat the most relaxed she had ever seen it. Janice stood to her left, her eyes bright but the small smile on her lips was still visible. The professor stood behind her, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

But that meant...

"Where's Emmy?" she asked.

Everyone in the room looked around the room. The young woman in the yellow coat was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?" Janice asked.

"Didn't she go to the lavatory or something like that?" Mrs Triton asked back.

As soon as she spoke, Emmy walked into the room.

"I'm sorry for taking so long." Emmy walked into the room. Her eyes downcast.

"Emmy, where were you?" the professor asked kindly.

"In the bathroom."

"..." Melina held the teddy bear close, she took a deep breath and "I'm ready."

The professor nodded and left the room to call the nurse in. She walked inside and began to methodically prepare all sorts of contraptions and devices next to the small boy that were designed to either monitor the child's body or keep it alive. She then took a mask and placed it over his nose and mouth. It smelled kind of sweet and strange.

"Take deep breaths," the nurse said "If you can reach ten deep breaths then we'll give you a nice present."

Melina took a deep breath. Luke's eyes became unfocused. She could still make out the colours of the room around her. She could faintly tell how Mr Triton's blue suit seemed to be so close to Mrs Triton white dress. They were probably hugging.

She took another breath. Luke's eyesight dimmed further. Every colour in the room seemed to slowly blur into the same shade of black. The last to go were Janice's red hair and Emmy's bright yellow clothes.

Melina took a third breath.

She was warmly received by the void that escorted her away from the waking world.


	15. Chapter 15

**So, here we are at the home stretch of this fanfiction! This is the penultimate chapter. Next one is probably the last one. This is a really short chapter (especially when you compare it to the previous one: 3,570 words! A record in this humble piece of fiction, if I'm allowed to say so!) but I hope that you like it.**

* * *

><p>"Only one person at the time may visit him now" said the nurse as she walked into the waiting room and saw the five-man party that was waiting for news. "He is being slowly weaned off the medications and the doctors need as much working space as possible in case anything happens. You can take turns if you want to. Just remember that there are visiting hours to respect."<p>

The professor nodded and tipped his hat. Mrs Triton turned to look at her husband. Mr Triton stroked his beard pensively. Emmy kept her eyes on her hands. Janice tugged her hair and nodded.

"I'll give you twenty minutes to decide and then I'll show whomever you chose to go first to Luke's room."

The nurse left.

"So...who will it be first?" asked Emmy.

Everyone looked at each other. Nobody spoke. Nobody dared to suggest themselves or someone else first.

The professor was the first one to speak.

"We could try to sort ourselves. Unless anybody wants to go first?"

"I do." Brenda Triton stepped up. "But first I want to go get something back at home. I'll be back soon, ok?"

Everyone agreed.

In the fifteen minutes that it took Mrs Triton to go and return, the professor had taken four pieces of paper and written in each paper a different number ranging from one to four. The papers were then placed in the professor's hat and everyone took a random piece of paper. The order stated by the papers to visit Luke was as follows: Janice, the professor, Emmy and finally Mr Triton.

The professor had just adjusted his hat when Mrs Triton walked into the waiting room, her breath shaken from having run from the bus stop and up the stairs. Her husband briefly explained to her what was the order to visit Luke.

The nurse came back.

"So, who will it be?"

Mrs Triton stepped up and followed her out of the room.

* * *

><p>Luke's hospital room had white walls, white bedsheets and white curtains. A doctor was hovering over Luke's pale figure. He turned around and nodded at the nurse. "He's breathing on his own now."<p>

The nurse smiled and watched the doctor leave the room. The nurse herself turned to leave, but Brenda stopped her on her tracks.

"How long until he is completely off the medications?" she asked the nurse.

"By tomorrow he should be awake again." the nurse smiled once again and left the room.

"Hello sweetheart" the child's mother walked over to her son and gently kissed him in the forehead. "I brought you one of those books you like. I'll read it to you, if you don't mind."

Luke's breathing remained steady. His face was relaxed. For all what she knew, he was just asleep. Or maybe not. Maybe he was too far away that he might not even hear her.

Brenda Triton opened the book and began to read out loud.

"_'It was nine o'clock at night upon the second of August-the most terrible August in the history of the world. One might have thought already that God's curse hung heavy over a degenerate world, for there was an awesome hush and a feeling of vague expectancy in the sultry and stagnant air'_..."

* * *

><p>Janice stepped into the room. As it was to be expected, everything was clean and orderly.<p>

The machines surrounding the boy's body, all of them with data that she had no idea what it meant, whirred quietly. An analog clock that hanged right above the door ticked. Luke's breathing was slow and quiet.

"Hello Luke. How are you? The doctors told me that you'll probably wake up tomorrow. Isn't that nice?"

Luke remained unresponsive.

"You know, when you wake up we should talk a bit. About anything that you want to. We could talk about Melina, or maybe about how you have been..."

He didn't answer.

"You know, they say that people are sometimes aware of what's happening around them when in a coma. You may not answer, but you are probably hearing me right?"

Luke's breathing didn't even waver.

"I guess that I am rambling, eh?" Janice giggled sadly. "I know something that you will like to hear."

Janice stood straight and began to warm up her voice. Once she was ready, she began to quietly sing to the child. Her voice filled the room and surrounded them like a warm blanket.

* * *

><p>The professor tipped his hat at the nurse and walked next to Luke's bed.<p>

"Isn't it interesting, my boy? The doctors missed something so vital because they worked on a false assumption. I am still surprised that your father hasn't called the higher executives of the hospital."

Luke's motionless figure didn't answer the professor.

"That is why, one must never be too hasty to jump into conclusions, my boy. Especially when solving puzzles. For instance, do you remember when we were in the Crown Petone? Everyone that got the answer wrong supposed that the oldest thing was _on_ the ship. However, the oldest thing we could see were the stars and planets."

The man took the seat next to the bed.

"You know, speaking of stars reminded me of a puzzle. I'll make sure to tell it to you when you wake up, but I'll tell it to you right now so that you can start thinking about it."

Luke didn't say anything.

"I begin in song, but not in melody. I end in beautiful, but not in gorgeous. I have been called the essence. What am I?"

The child remained still.

* * *

><p>Emmy strode into the room with determination.<p>

"Luke..." Emmy sat next to the pale boy. "...Do you remember how it was when we almost crashed in the sea?"

The little boy kept his eyes closed.

"... I saw that a thunderstorm was approaching on the barometer before it hit us. I should have taken another course, but I thought that I could handle it. "

She took his hand. It was warmer than what she expected. Emmy let some tears fall down her eyes and unto the boy's bedsheets

"If you ever wake up, would you please forgive me for being so careless?"

She sat there in silence, her tears flowing through her eyes like an overflowing glass. The rest of her visit was relatively uneventful. She held the child's hand and cried.

When she stepped out of the room, her heart felt lighter.

* * *

><p>"..." Clark Triton stepped next to his son and pushed the bangs away from his face.<p>

Luke didn't react.

But it didn't matter to him in the least. He had always considered himself a man of few words, regardless of his occupation. Luke might have not been able to listen to him, but he still leaned close to him and whispered something into his ear.

"I love you, son."

* * *

><p><strong>The book that Brenda is reading to Luke is real. If you want you can just google the quote if you want to see where it comes from. Just in case any of you are wondering about the riddle...yes I made it. Yes, I know it's sorta lame, but hey: I made it. Next chapter will have the answer, I promise! Until then, feel free to review or send me a message if it tickles your fancy!<br>**


	16. Chapter 16

**And so we have (finally) reached the end! I would like to thank, once again, all of my dear reviewers (anonymous or not, of course) and readers! Thank you so much for taking your time to provide me with some very valuable feedback and comments!**

**Without further ado, I present to you the last chapter of this fiction!**

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><p><em>The drone of the engine woke him up.<em>

_Luke blinked around him and found himself several feet above sea level. _

"_Eh!" he yelped and turned his eyes on the pilot's seat. Emmy's long and wavy hair swished this way and that in the wind._

"_Hm?" he could make out over the noise. Emmy turned her head as much as she could without neglecting her piloting. "Oh! You finally woke up, second assistant!"_

_Not bothering to correct Emmy's flawed statement (second assistant? More like Layton's number one apprentice!), Luke tried to remember how on Earth did he end up on an air plane that he never remembered getting on. He thought and mused, but was distracted by Emmy talking to him._

"_Hello? Are you still awake?"_

"_Eh? Emmy?"_

"_Yes! How are you feeling Luke?"_

_Luke cocked his head. How WAS he feeling...? Fuzzy. Yes: that was the best word to describe it._

"_I feel fuzzy."_

"_Of course you do," the pilot's smile could be heard in her voice. "You just bumped your head. You might have a tiny concussion. Good thing you are awake, though! That means that you are recovering nicely."_

"_I bumped my head?"_

"_Yes! You just hit your head while jumping out of an exploding giant robot!"_

_A giant robot...That's right! Descole's giant robot! Then that meant that..._

"_Are we going to shoot down Descole's giant robot?"_

"_'Shoot Descole's giant robot down'?"_

"_Yes! Like..." the word escaped him "Boom!"_

"_No Luke, Descole's robot already went 'boom'! I'm taking you to the hospital."_

"_But you just made it go 'boom', right? With the air plane?"_

"_No." Emmy insisted "Descole's machine exploded on its __own."_

"_Then why are we flying?"_

"_Because," the exasperation in Emmy's voice escalating "I am taking you to the hospital."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you just got hit on the head while jumping out of Descole's exploding machine!"_

_It came back to him: the Detragan, Janice-or Melina as the case was, Mr Whistler, the three songs, Ambrosia, the professor..._

"_Oh! The professor a-and Melina-!"_

"_So, you remember now?" Emmy smiled at him and turned her head back to the controls. "Don't worry, they are fine. Only some scratches, but nothing serious."_

"_Oh...that's nice..." _

_Was there anything else he could say? Hopefully not. His head buzzed and his eyes were heavy... Maybe if he closed them for a little while... it was not like he could fall asleep with the sea, the wind and the motor massacring his eardrums._

_Three frigid raindrops fell on his face. It was enough to get him wide-awake._

"_...Emmy" Luke spoke slowly, a bit uncertain of whether he had imagined or not the raindrops. "W-why are ...?"_

"_Oh don't worry," the professor's assistant gave him a thumbs up. "Just a little drizzle. Might turn into a __storm, but nothing really bad."_

_He decided to trust Emmy's judgement, mostly because he had no choice in the matter. He supposed that Emmy knew more than he did about flying seaplanes in storms. However, he didn't like the thought of getting wet. He was hungry, tired, his head hurt and now he was going to get wet. It was not a pleasing situation. It was not a pleasing situation at all._

_The wind rocked the little seaplane. Luke clutched the side of the aircraft's with his numb hands. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths._

_He felt the metal carcass shake once more. Emmy's disgruntled voice could be barely heard above the fierce winds. He couldn't understand her exact words. He didn't had to try. The reason behind Emmy's distress was apparent._

"_Emmy!" he yelled with what little force he could muster "What are we going to do?"_

_Emmy's answer was distorted by the downpour._

_Luke then prayed. Not in the conventional manner. (He was never really taught to whom or what to pray to) It was more like a cry of help that he cast away like a message in a bottle in hopes of someone listening to him. It was hopeless, yet trying never hurt._

_The cold rain bit his face and left it numb. He didn't dare to open his eyes, in fear of what he might see._

_The struggling yellow seaplane finally gave out and fell._

_Luke heard his own voice on the back of his head, uttering in the exact same tone the last words he told his parents before leaving and never coming back._

"_Don't worry! I'm going with the professor! Everything will be all right!"_

_No, everything didn't go all right._

_The professor was not here. And even if he was, there was surely nothing that could be done._

_Luke didn't yell when he opened his eyes. He didn't yell when he saw the ocean's uneven surface claw at the seaplane that was headed straight towards it. He didn't yell because, the closer the seaplane got to the water, the more dream-like the vision became._

_He was gone before the inevitable impact was made. _

* * *

><p>The skies were their usual shade of grey. Clouds hung over the city of London, giving testimony to the ever-present threat of rain falling upon the city. However, that day the threat was perfectly justified, for some droplets fell from the sky and landed upon the Earth. As the day went on, the droplets became more and more, turning the light drizzle into a sort of monsoon-like storm.<p>

It was hard to hear over the thunder and the rain what the doctors told the five-man group. However, it didn't take much to understand that that the doctors informed them that they had completely taken the child off the medications and that it was very likely that he would wake up soon. That day, they were all allowed inside the room at the same time. A very convenient thing indeed.

So they all waited in Luke's room. To the child's right were the professor and Emmy. Towards his left were his mother and father. Janice stood by the pale boy's feet. Behind him, a strange series of contraptions whirred and beeped.

They waited...

And waited...

And waited...

While they patiently endured doubt and fear in hopes for some sort of miracle to occur, the doctors and nurses kept a close eye on the machines. They reassured the five visitors that Luke was bound to wake up any time soon: that it would be any time now. However, everyone in the room knew that the day before the same doctors had admitted that they had no idea of what to do.

The rain grew stronger. It fell with such noise that not even the dead would be able to sleep through it.

Perhaps that was why the boy's eyes opened and he looked around in confusion.

He didn't have time to notice how stiff the bed was, nor how it was so cold to be wearing only a light hospital gown. He barely had time to realize where he was when he was assaulted by five different voices. Each one speaking right after the other.

"He woke up!"

"Oh thank goodness!"

"Do you think he's ok?"

"Should we call the doctor?"

"Calm down, you'll confuse him!"

The last voice was right. All five voices and faces at the same time gave him a headache. But then again...he began to distinguish who they were. The professor...his parents...Emmy and even Janice! It all gained such an amazing colour, such clear detail that he had never felt so happy before and-!

Alive.

He was alive.

How strange it was to think those words! He was alive, wonderfully so!

A new face appeared. Before Luke could make out the face, he shone a little light on his eye.

"Can you tell me what's your name?"

What a funny question.

"Luke."

For some reason, Luke's parents smiled at each other. Emmy let out a long sigh. The professor tipped his hat and Janice looked at her hands.

"Luke what?" the man- that Luke noticed was a doctor- insisted.

"Luke Triton, of course!" the child scoffed

The doctor nodded. He wrote something on a clipboard and turned to a nurse by the door.

"Miss Haze, will you please give me the charts from the past 24 hours and a control chart?"

The nurse handed him a fat manilla folder.

Luke stared in fascination at the doctor's white coat. It was one of the few things in the room that was uniformly coloured: everything else had different shades of the same colour. But not that coat. It was a beautiful, pristine white: like snow, salt or Ambrosia's ruins.

"My boy," the professor distracted him "how are you feeling?"

Luke turned at him and cocked his head. After two seconds, he answered: "I feel happy. Can't you tell?" As if to make it more apparent, the sides of his mouth curved upwards.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Emmy asked with a toothy grin. "Come on second assistant, we all want to know!"

Luke's reaction was immediate.

"I am **not** the professor's assistant! I am his** apprentice**!"

Janice giggled daintily.

The self-proclaimed apprentice smiled widely at Janice. He then closed his eyes to recall what he could.

"Hm...I am not sure. I think that I had a dream...but it was so real! I have no idea what to think!"

Everyone, including the nurse and the doctor, paid close attention to what the boy had to say next.

"I remember waking up in an airplane." Luke's eyes looked off to the distance. "Emmy was there. She told me that she was taking me to the hospital..."

The professor nodded and held his chin, deep in thought. The loud rain finally calmed down to an almost undistinguishable pitter-patter.

"We talked for a while and then we got into a storm," Luke continued " the airplane started to fall towards the sea and..."

Luke stopped. His eyebrows were scrunched together in concentration.

"You woke up here?" asked the child's father.

"No..." Luke imitated the professor's pose. Hand on his chin, his eyes kept firmly on the indiscernible distance. "I woke up in a place... with grass."

"Grass?" Mrs Triton took his small hand and tucked his hair behind his ear. "Go on..."

"It was very soft grass..." Luke finally moved his gaze to his mother's eyes. "I was on top of a hill. The hill was..."

He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Once he finished, he turned to look at Emmy.

"The hill was overlooking the sea. And there was a really nice breeze. And suddenly I heard something very funny."

Emmy nodded eagerly at Luke, coaxing him to go on.

"I think it was music...?" Luke closed his eyes once again and hummed to himself a tuneless melody. "Yes: it was definitely music. But it was so strange because it was like-"

"And then you woke up here?" Mr Triton asked again.

"No," Luke glared at him, very annoyed "I followed the music and saw that it came from a white pipe. The white pipe lead to a city. I went the city, talked to some people and _**then**_ I woke up here!"

The professor gasped. "What did you just say?"

"Um..." Luke shrunk back when he felt the adults gawk at him

"Tell us more about this dream you had." Luke's father insisted.

"Dad..." Luke rubbed his eyes and scowled "I _already _told you everything!"

"You barely told us anything!" Emmy insisted "Come on, Luke! We all want to know!"

Luke turned away from Emmy and, with a small frown, said: "The people from the city were playing music and I asked them where I was."

"What did they say?" His mother asked kindly.

Luke bit his lip and moved his eyes to his hands. He remained quiet.

The first person who noticed that he was crying was Janice.

The red-head stepped closer to him "Luke? What's wrong?"

"..." Luke's shoulder's shook slightly. He quietly began to sob.

"Son..." Mr Triton began, but couldn't bring himself to finish whatever he was going to say.

"Oh Luke! It's all right!" Mrs Triton hugged him. Luke returned the hug. His sobs louder and louder.

"..." The doctor took a pen and began to take notes. The nurse stared at the scene.

The professor placed his hand on the child's head. "Luke, my b-"

"I don't know!" Luke yelled suddenly. He then continued with his wailing and snivelling.

"What is it that you don't know?" the professor asked.

Luke held on to his mother and kept on crying.

"For the love of-" Emmy sighed and leaned on the wall the furthest away from the crying child.

Janice stood a bit to the side, unsure whether to step closer and try to console the boy or not.

None of the people in the room, not even Luke, knew for how long he had been crying and sobbing before he finally calmed down. What they all knew, however, was that after he stopped crying they were all feeling extremely exhausted.

Luke's stomach growled.

"Sorry..." Luke mumbled."...I'm hungry."

"Ah, yes you are." the doctor suddenly spoke up. "You haven't technically eaten anything for a day. All nutrients were given to you with an IV drip."

"So...can I eat now?" Luke rubbed his red eyes and hiccuped.

"Yes, yes! Just let me..." the doctor left the hospital room with the nurse on tow.

"Are you feeling better now, my boy?" the professor ruffled Luke's hair.

He nodded and broke the hug with his mother. He then rubbed his eyes once more.

"I think..." Mr Triton tentatively spoke "that we should also eat something while we keep Luke company. We haven't had anything since this morning and it has been a long day for all of us."

"I completely agree!" the man's wife looked up at him, then addressed her son "Would you like that? Or do you want to eat alone?"

"I don't mind..." Luke glanced at her with a certain look on his eyes that said that he wanted everyone to stay.

"Then it's decided!" Mrs Triton sat up and walked over to the door "Come on, Clark, we have to go home and tell Doland to make us some sandwiches or something..."

"Yes, dear..." Mr Triton sighed and followed her. He suddenly stopped short and turned around to look at the professor. "Layton, you and I still have that little discussion to attend to. Tomorrow at five -with some biscuits and tea- sounds like a good time?"

"It's a wonderful time, Clark."

Clark nodded briskly and turned to leave.

"'Discussion'? Luke turned to the professor "What does that mean?"

"Oh nothing my boy: just a little academic disagreement Clark and I had. But never mind that. My boy, I have a puzzle for you. A riddle, actually. Let me tell it to you again..."

Luke stared at the professor with his eyes reflecting his hunger for a challenge.

"I begin in song, but not in melody. I end in beautiful, but not in gorgeous. I have been called the essence. What am I?"

Luke cocked his head in confusion. Yet, for some reason, the professor was certain that the confusion in his eyes did not stem from getting the answer of the riddle. It was almost as if the child was remembering something long gone and forgotten.

But whatever said thing was (if there was such a thing in the first place), Luke did not say.

"You know..." Emmy took out her camera and toggled with it aimlessly "I think giving him a riddle right after he woke up from an artificial sleep is not very nice. Let him be for once professor: can't you tell that he's disoriented?"

Emmy's voice seemed to distract Luke from his deep recollection.

"...nah" Luke mumbled something so quietly that the gentle sound of raindrops covered up what he said.

"What did you say?" Janice tucked her hair behind her ear.

"No, nothing." Luke shook his head.

* * *

><p>The doctors had made Luke take several tests and answer some questions to be <em>absolutely<em> certain that the little patient was in good health.

Luke had been quiet all the time. He only responded with the most basic replies. His father had to insist three times that Luke was just a shy kid before the doctors finally let him leave the hospital. Of course, Luke would have to go get checked every two weeks or whenever an emergency occurred. They didn't specify for how long he would have to come "every two weeks".

It had been a long day. A long, exhausting, extenuating day. Getting strength from where there was almost none left, everyone decided to go their own ways back home. The Tritons had to take a bus, for their handsome black auto mobile was in need of repair. Emmy left for her dwelling on her yellow moped. The professor offered Janice a ride back home on the 'Laytonmobile', but the red-head insisted on walking home.

She had opened her umbrella to walk through the streets when something strange happened.

It stopped raining.

Janice closed her umbrella and looked up at the sky. The only thing left was the humid smell of rain lingering on the afternoon air. It was a delicious, clean and fresh smell.

The sky was still overcast, but it didn't bother her as Janice Quatlane walked alone to her home.

* * *

><p>"So, let us revise the facts. Members of the jury: I would like to present my argument first." Clark Triton paced around the living room with a sugar coated biscuit on his hand and some crumbs on his beard.<p>

"So...should we let him?" Brenda turned to look at the opera singer and the assistant.

The assistant nodded. The singer shook her head.

"Well, it seems that majority states that you start, professor."

"Wh-what?" the man bit unto his cracker "Brenda, darling-"

"I am sorry," Mrs Triton declared decisively "But I believe that the professor should start the debate. He knows more about the specifics."

"If that is the case then..." Layton set his cup of tea on the table. "I'll begin by calling my witness to the stand. Janice, if you may...?"

Janice stood up.

"Would you please tell everyone present about how it felt to be wired to Mr Whistler machine?"

"Well..."Janice giggled "uncomfortable. You have a giant helmet on your head, your head feels fuzzy and tired."

"This was before the experiment took place, am I right?"

"Yes. Once Whistler pulled down the lever, it was a bit like watching images flash before your eyes and a mixture of sounds on your ear."

"When did you realize that these memories were of Melina?"

"Well, Mr Whislter first told me to think about times that I was with Melina, so at first I didn't notice because I saw myself on the memories. However, when I began to see and feel things about her father I knew that something was wrong."

"How exactly did you allow Melina to take over your mind?"

"Ah...that's a bit harder to understand... You see, when I realized that those memories were not mine the machine seemed to have stopped trying to force them unto me. And then, I had this..thought."

"What thought, Janice?"

"I thought: 'What would happen if I let Melina's memories in?'...Oh I know this is silly but..."

"It is perfectly understandable, dear. Please, go on."

"Well, after that, the memories seemed to come back to me. Very slowly too. So, I had another strange thought: 'I want Melina to return.' I focused on that one thought and didn't let it go as I remembered more and more about Melina's life. Well...until the end of the transfer, I suppose..."

"Thank you Janice." The professor sat up and paced around the room "Now, we never got to see Descole's plans for the Detragan: so we cannot be sure of how it functioned. However, if my hypothesis is correct, the transfer of memory alone is not enough to make a person somebody. Janice's determination could have been part of what made that formula work. The other young ladies that Whister tried time and time again to use as hosts for his daughters did not have quite the desire that Janice did to let Melina come back to life. I'd say that they counteracted Melina's memories with as much desire as Janice accepted them. Nina was the one that came the closest, other than Janice, because as a child she did not quite posses the determination the older girls had."

Clark took another biscuit and bit on it, waiting patiently for his adversary to finish.

"However, Luke's case goes completely against this theory. Firstly: he knew that the memories implanted unto him were not his and he vehemently rejected them, like the other girls. Secondly: right after the transfer was completed, Luke acted and behaved like his usual self. This leads me to think that solely believing on a memory transfer and will to accept these memories is a red-herring. There must have been something else that, although not very easily proven, is the only thing that makes sense."

"Go on Hershel," Clark prompted "I have my counter argument ready, just finish yours for once!"

"I believe, that Melina's own being had to completely agree with the idea of taking residence on a host body. In other words; she rejected taking the bodies-and by definition the lives- of other people just to live on herself. She was extremely insistent on that. Let us suppose that Melina's memories can only remain stable if Melina's herself remains on the body that hosts the memories. Even if Nina had technically taken all of her memories, Melina was inhabiting Janice's body and refused to take on Nina's. Not having Melina's being on her body to stabilize the memories, Nina's brain began to push Melina's memories out. This could have also happened with the other girls. So that leaves the window of possibility open to explaining why Luke could also successfully take on Melina's personality and mannerisms: it was not Luke who was acting, it was actually Melina."

"All of that is fairly interesting, Hershel. I commend you for your efforts." The man stroke his beard and nodded, as if agreeing with himself. "I'd say that this whole 'memories' thing is just that: memories. For instance, I could remember taking out the rubbish, yet for some reason, the rubbish is still inside the house. How much can you trust what you remember? And yet, we trust our memory every single day."

"It's true..." the professor sat down and nursed his cup of tea.

"You forget something of extreme importance when addressing the time Janice was Melina or something like that. You see: Janice is -for simplicity's sake- an actress. Her job is to set her own personality aside and _be_ another character. Could it be, then, that she was more able to act out being Melina because she had the experience? The other girls, no matter much they tried, could have not impresonated Melina because they refused to allow the transfer to be completed _and_ because they didn't think that they were Melina, but themselves. Nina came close to this because she is a child, and children are very able to play pretend."

"The what about Luke? He is not very good at acting, I'm afraid."

"Simple: Luke had this so-called transfer made, right? He acted his usual self afterwards. That leads me to think that Melina's memories were configured to be processed by a female brain. Since Luke is a boy, all those memories went straight to the subconscious: the junk drawer of the conscious mind. Now, Luke had slipped into a coma, remember? If I have to guess when, then it must be during that 'joy flight' with Miss Emmy. Anyway: with his conscious mind all fuddled up, it was only natural for his brain to try to bring out whatever semblance it could of organized thought it had."

"..." Layton sipped his tea.

"Being in a comma is, essentially, being asleep. Isn't it normal for the subconscious to act up when one is asleep? For practical purposes, I say that this whole episode of Luke and Melina could be seen as a long-lasting sleepwalking."

"It does make sense..." Emmy muttered to herself. "I don't know much about these subjects, but it sounds quite solid..."

"Professor," Mrs Triton turned to the top-hatted firgure "do you have a counter argument?"

"Well, it might seem to add up, but you are forgetting about what happened yesterday..."

"What is everyone doing here?" Luke's messy bed-head poked to look at the scene in the living room.

His mother, Janice and Emmy were seated on the long couch. The professor was on a seat facing them towards their left, whereas his father was on a set towards their right. From the looks of it, he had eaten all of those sugar coated biscuits that Luke loved to munch on at tea time.

"There is my little bear!" Clark shook some cookie crumbs off his beard. "How has this hibernation been?"

"I'm hungry." Luke replied pitifully.

"There is some salmon on the river for you to catch." Mr Triton straightened out his tie "By 'catch' I mean 'get', by 'river' I mean 'oven' and by 'salmon' I mean 'salmon'. Now go get it and come over here. You dad's winning a debate here. You can be a witness. Or a member of the jury: are there still any vacancies?"

"I say we call a pause," Mrs Triton sat up "so that we can all stretch our legs, gather our thoughts and Luke can eat."

"I like that idea!" Luke walked over to his mother like a duckling.

"Yes, I could use some fresh air myself," mumbled Janice as she walked out to the backyard. Emmy followed suit.

Mrs Triton had walked a few steps and Luke was about to follow her when the professor stopped him.

"My boy, I gave you a little riddle to think about back at the hospital. Here, let me tell it to you again so that you can think it through, ok?" without waiting for Luke's response, he began to recite the riddle for the third time. "I begin in so-"

"Ah!" Luke grinned widely "I know the answer! It's 'soul' right?"

Layton was taken aback by Luke's swift answer. He was so stunned that the young boy had stepped into the kitchen and was claiming his breakfast/dinner with gusto when the professor realized what the boy had just said. Layton couldn't help but grin and grip his hat that instant.

"Yes, my boy," He muttered to himself "you are absolutely right."


End file.
